For two days – December 20 and 21 – Bishkek hosted the III People’s Kurultai, which was attended by 700 delegates from all over Kyrgyzstan, as well as the President of the country, the Speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh, the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, his deputies, heads of ministries and agencies. Among other requests, delegates from different regions of the republic demanded from the authorities to create new water reservoirs and build new hydroelectric power plants.
A delegate from Uzgen district, Abdrakhman Zholdoshaliev, noted the problem of water shortage for irrigation in the region during the III People’s Kurultai in Bishkek.
Five rivers flow through Uzgen Aiyl Aimak, and although there is enough water in spring and fall, there is not enough during the irrigation period, he said.
“Only from the Zerger River are diverted canals Kozulu, Atamkul, Kara-Zhygach, which provide 2366 hectares of land in Zhazy and Tor-Kol aimags. 19 million 661 thousand cubic meters of water are required for these canals, but only 60% of the volume can be provided. The rest of the water has to be taken additionally from the Zhazy River,” Zholdoshaliyev said.
To solve this problem, he proposed to build long-term regulation basins on the Zerger River, which would allow to accumulate up to 8 million cubic meters of water per year, which would meet the needs of farmers in irrigation water.
The delegate also reminded that Uzgen district is rich in rivers such as Kara-Darya, Zhazy, Zerger, Changet and Kurshab. Previously, small HPPs operated on them until the Toktogul HPP was put into operation. Taking into account the population’s growing demand for electricity, Zholdoshaliyev suggested resuming the construction of small HPPs.
“In Zherenche aiyl aimak in Zhazy aiyl aimak, the site of a former small HPP has been preserved and is ready for use. There are similar suitable sites on other rivers of the district,” he added.
Iskhak Pazylov, a delegate from Leilek district, also raised the issues of water resources utilization and infrastructure improvement in the region.
Two major rivers – the Kozu-Balban and Ak-Suu – flow through Leilek, he said. However, the potential of these rivers is underutilized, limiting opportunities for irrigating agricultural land.
“We have the Berk-Suu and Sary-Dosh projects, and the next important step is the construction of the Leylek reservoir. Through this we hope to provide water to rural districts such as Ken-Talaa, Jany-Zher and Kulunda,” Pazylov noted.
He also emphasized the importance of implementing the project on the Sarken-Tө jailoo, which will provide water to the town of Razzakov, Toguz-Bulak and Sumul.
“It is necessary to extend 17 kilometers of water pipes in Kok-Tash,” the delegate added.
Taalaibek Osmonov, a delegate from Naryn district, asked the president to launch the Naryn HPP cascade. According to him, this would increase the number of jobs and incomes of the population.
Delegate Gulaiym Seitgazieva said a new reservoir is needed near the village of Tosok in Kyrgyzstan’s Jeti-Oguz District.
“In Tosok village it is also necessary to build flumes in local canals. Also in this village the issue of construction of a water reservoir is not solved. To date, the design and estimate documentation is already ready,” she added.
In turn, the new head of the country’s Cabinet of Ministers Adylbek Kasymaliyev said that Kyrgyzstan is positioned as a key reliable partner in Central Asia in the field of hydropower and spoke about the hydropower potential of Kambarata HPP-1.
“The following measures will be implemented to develop this sector: first, the potential of solar, wind and hydropower will be developed, while eliminating the state monopoly and creating favorable conditions for attracting investment; second, the joint construction of the railroad with Uzbekistan and cooperation on the construction of Kambar-Ata HPP-1 with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan contributes to strengthening regional cooperation and creating favorable conditions for further development,” he said.
