This spring there is a shortage of some building materials in the Kyrgyz Republic. The authorities were recently forced to lift the temporary restriction on their import, which the Cabinet of Ministers once introduced to support domestic producers of glass, building mixtures, gypsum, and cement.

The domestic market especially needs cement, the price of which has jumped by 30-40 percent. And this despite the fact that several cement factories are operating at full capacity in the country.

The reason for the shortage of this material is the construction boom that has engulfed the entire country. Residential buildings, enterprises, and social facilities are being built in all regions. But especially a lot of cement is required for the construction of hydroelectric power stations. The Ministry of Energy of the Kyrgyz Republic plans to begin construction of 18 hydroelectric power stations of various capacities in 2025.

Of all the new energy facilities, Energy Minister Taalaibek Ibraev highlights the Kulanak hydroelectric power station, which is being built forty kilometers west of the regional center, near the confluence of the Naryn and At-Bashi rivers. This is the first hydraulic structure since the collapse of the Union that the republic is building on its own.

The project is being implemented by LLC «Production Enterprise «Naryn». The 100-megawatt hydroelectric plant will produce up to 450 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy annually. The current generated by the four turbines will primarily satisfy the domestic electricity needs of villages and cities in the Naryn region, strengthen the energy security of Kyrgyzstan and, finally, promote the export of domestic products to Pakistan and Afghanistan within the framework of the CASA-1000 initiative.

According to the Ministry of Energy, Russia is represented here by the general designer — joint-stock company «Lenhydroproekt», which also exercises supervision over construction, and the design, survey, research institute (Research Institute) «Gidroproekt» named after S.Ya. Beetle, performing the functions of a customer engineer.

It is the research institute that carries out technical supervision, control and support at all stages of the initiative — design, construction and installation work, approval of selected suppliers and contractors, monitoring of the manufacture and acceptance of equipment. The ANO «Soyuzexpertiza» company at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation is responsible for the financial and technical audit of the project on the part of the lender. Equipment and materials for hydroelectric power stations are supplied from Russia, Austria, Turkey, and Germany. Domestically produced cement — from the Kant plant.

As the power engineers assured, modern information networks and technologies are used in the construction and subsequent operation of hydroelectric power stations to collect data from all devices and units. Engineering miracle — intelligent control system SCADA — will, based on water flow indicators, automatically switch the turbines to the most efficient and safe operating mode.

According to chief foreman Azat Adylbekov, construction began in 2022. The energy sector plans to launch the first unit in the fourth quarter of 2026. The construction of the hydroelectric power station «Kulanak» is financed by the Eurasian Bank, the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund and private investment. The cost of the facility is about $135 million.

— So far everything is going as normal. A team of 640 specialists, workers, crane operators, drivers «of heavy trucks» works in two shifts day and night, in any weather, — he said. — More than half of the staff are residents of the Naryn region.

Thanks to the work of hundreds of people, the contours in the drawings become material. Today you can already walk along the bottom of the dam. At the same time, channels — outlet and drainage, 6.5 kilometers long, are being laid, a water intake and a pressure basin are being built.

Another construction site was located a little further from the dam. This is a hydroelectric power station building where four Austrian-made hydraulic units have already been installed, each with a capacity of 25 megawatts.

—The pace of construction is high, but by this summer and in 2026, when the facility needs to be prepared for delivery, work will speed up, — said chief engineer Belek Sulaimanov. — More people will be needed. Let’s increase the number to 1000 people.

Construction is provided with everything necessary uninterruptedly. In two shifts, workers lay several hundred tons of concrete into the foundation and walls of the hydraulic structure. There is no shortage of cement here, but, according to the chief engineer, there is a shortage of qualified personnel.

Once upon a time, Kyrgyz hydraulic builders — skillful, fearless, educated were famous throughout the Union. Poems were written about them and films were made. And with the collapse of a large country, this detachment of professionals was left out of work. In search of work in their specialty, many were forced to go abroad.

Among them was Belek Sulaimanov. who found application for his experience in Russia. He participated in the construction of several hydroelectric power stations in the Far East and on the Amur River. And when I learned that hydropower was being revived in my homeland and specialists were needed, I returned home without hesitation. Several more hydraulic builders from that glorious galaxy who managed to work abroad work at the Kulanak station.

—And this is a good sign for the industry, which has begun to build several large and small hydroelectric power stations at once. Now the country is faced with the task of — training personnel, — says Energy Minister Taalaibek Ibraev.

Getting into the hydraulic engineering team is not easy. Good salaries, comfortable dormitories, excellent food, and shift work make the facility attractive to the unemployed population. Mostly residents of the Naryn region work here. Their numbers will soon increase.

Larisa Li («Rossiyskaya Gazeta — Economy of Kyrgyzstan»)