Large-scale construction of hydroelectric power stations is planned on the Koksu River in the Zhetysu region of Kazakhstan. Archaeologists are against it, since the unique and not fully studied Eshkiolmes gorge – the largest concentration of petroglyphs in Kazakhstan, included in the preliminary list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, may be under threat. Environmentalists, representatives of the tourism industry and the rafting federation are also against it. The publication «Power» tells what is known about the companies that are going to build them, why social activists are against them, and how government agencies respond to their objections:

Andrey Tansari, social activist from Taldykorgan – one of those who regularly goes with his family to the Koksu River to relax and go fishing. On one of these trips, he noticed that containers for construction workers had begun to be brought to the river. He made a publication about this on social networks. Soon he came to the river again to rest and saw that equipment had already been delivered there. The social activist wrote about this again on social networks. Both publications did not cause much reaction.

«But [then] we didn’t understand the scale of all this, – he says. –Only after we started making requests did we learn that about 10 hydroelectric power stations would be located on the Koksu River».

Meanwhile, active construction began on forest land, but only after several publications on social networks did a passport finally appear at the site.

Olga Gumirova, executive director of the «Petroglyph Hunters» fund, said that 10 hydroelectric power stations are planned to be built on a section of the river about 60 kilometers long, their construction will be carried out under the green energy development program.

«They are scattered across three districts, and, as we found out, the leadership of these districts is not even aware that other hydroelectric power stations will be built nearby. Some hydroelectric power stations will have retaining dams», – Gumirova said at a press conference in February. At the same time, social activists cannot obtain a complete set of documents for any of the planned hydroelectric power stations.

There is a list of hydroelectric power stations on the Koksu River in the plan for the development of the hydropower industry until 2030, but since it was approved, changes have been made to it. Now, according to the Ministry of Energy, the plan includes seven hydroelectric power plants with a total installed capacity of 151 MW.

In addition, some planned hydroelectric power stations are not included in the ministry’s plan, but data about them «the authorities» was provided by the regional energy department.

Who is behind the construction?

Mine HPP-1 and HPP-2, preparations for the construction of which were discovered by Andrey Tansari, are being built by Energobildservice LLP. The publication «Orda» reported that the ultimate beneficiaries of this company are – co-owner «Elitstroy group» Kairat Orazbekov, businessman Alen Baigazin and the KAZ Minerals holding, owned by billionaire Vladimir Kim and partners.

The cost of the project – more than 44 billion tenge, the lion’s share of the funds was borrowed by Energobildservice LLP last year from the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, its participation will amount to up to 37.5 billion. One of the companies through which KAZ Minerals owns a stake in LLP «Energobildservice» – The private company Powerbridge Limited has been headed since 2023 by Ruslan Iskakov, until 2022 – Chairman of the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, who previously worked for a long time in its subsidiary.

Brother of Kairat Orazbekov, Anuarbek Orazbekov – one of the ultimate owners of another company planning to build a hydroelectric power station at Koksu – LLP «Koksu Kuat».

The «Koksu Hydro» LLP, which plans to build the 53 MW Kyzylbulak hydroelectric power station on the Koksu River, is owned by Bauyrzhan Ospanov, who ranked 66th among the 75 richest businessmen in Kazakhstan in 2024 according to Forbes.

Eskeldinskaya HPP LLP «and Verkhne-Talaptinskaya HPP LLP» belong to the same group of businessmen from different fields, among them «Aibek Umbetalin, entrepreneur and director of the BTC KZ mining center, based in Ekibastuz. The same businessmen own the Cascade NRG company, which also plans to build one of the hydroelectric power stations on the Koksu River.

According to the Energy Department, another hydroelectric power station on the border of the Koksui and Eskeldinsky districts is planned to be built by Koksui HPP LLP «Koksui HPPs». The company belongs to businessmen who own the holding «ASPMK-519». The same holding owns another company, which has already caused concern among social activists due to the destruction of petroglyphs in the Zhetysu – Temirbeton «LLP» region. In 2023, while mining diorite, the company carried out a series of explosions on the Temir hill, destroying a mountain where ancient rock art was discovered. In September last year, work was stopped, and local authorities promised to take the entire Kyzyltas gorge under protection.

There are also petroglyphs on the Koksu River, as well as – ancient burial grounds, for the safety of which social activists are worried.

«Drawings that have not yet been properly recorded will be destroyed by lichen»

According to Olga Gumirova, social activists arrived at the site where they plan to build Rudnichnaya HPP-1 and found out that the construction permit was issued to the company without archaeological examination.

«The representative of the Institute of Archeology, Kairat Zhambulatov, recorded right on the spot that during the preparation of the construction site, a fairly large burial ground of Saki and Turkic mounds was demolished», – Gumirova said. According to her, the company will face a fine, and she announced a tender for archaeological examination after the burial grounds were damaged.

According to social activists, construction of the Talaptinskaya hydroelectric power station should begin in March near the Eshkiolmes – petroglyph cluster, the largest in Kazakhstan and not yet fully studied. According to Gumirova, construction of a hydroelectric power station should soon begin in the area of the village of Mambet – it is likely that the dam will be located very close to the rock paintings.

«The presence of water will begin to affect the rocks, – says Gumirova. – Drawings that have not yet been properly recorded or filmed will simply be destroyed by lichen».

According to Alexander Goryachev, a leading researcher at the Margulan Institute of Archeology, a huge number of trade, caravan and migration routes passed through the entire Koksu River valley, and the monuments of the valley date back to ancient times.

Petroglyphs of the Eshkiolmes ridge were discovered relatively recently – in the early 1970s, this happened by accident during geological exploration. The very first expedition of archaeologists showed that this is a unique complex with a huge number of rock paintings.

Goryachev says that according to preliminary estimates, there are about 25 thousand ancient rock paintings in this area. Over 200 mounds of the Early Iron Age, burial grounds of the Bronze Age were also discovered here, and several cemeteries of representatives of Kazakh clans and tribes were recorded on the mountain pass.
«Before planning anything, we need to carefully look at how much information of historical and cultural significance we will lose in the event of this construction», – Goryachev is sure.

The specialist notes that before the construction of the Kapchagai hydroelectric power station, a special archaeological commission studied ancient mounds, settlements and burial grounds at the site of future flooding for several years.

«An attempt to explore this site will lead to such expenses that economically a hydroelectric power station will hardly be advisable; there are so many archaeological sites there that their exploration will take both a certain time and resources», – the specialist believes.

He notes that the Eshkiolmes ridge itself, together with such petroglyphic complexes as Bayanzhurek, Kulzhabasy and Arpa-Uzen, is included in the UNESCO nomination of monuments of world cultural significance.

«In the event of the destruction of the surrounding natural landscape, the monument will not only lose the right to be nominated to UNESCO, several more unique objects will lose the right along with it, since they are all connected, and their authenticity is extremely important for international institutions to recognize it, and the monument is truly worthy», – Goryachev also warns.

The Ministry of Culture responded to a request «from the Authorities» that despite the nomination to UNESCO, the issue of protecting Eshkiolmes petroglyphs falls within the competence of local authorities. The department also noted that the withdrawal of the nomination to UNESCO is not envisaged, but Kazakhstan, as a participating country, can review and update the list of objects that it wishes to nominate.

«This gorge is as suitable as possible for international competitions»

In addition to archaeologists, athletes and tourism workers are against the construction of a hydroelectric power station on the Koksu River. According to Konstantin Guk-Senovich, president of the Rafting Federation, the Koksu River hosted the 2023 Asian Championships in this sport – for the first time in Central Asia.

«We held it precisely at this place, where they are going to build Rudnichnye HPP-1 and HPP-2. This gorge is unique, most suitable for holding international competitions», – he said. International rafting federations have also added the site to their register of possible international competition venues.

«The International Rafting Federation is concerned about this section of the river and is already writing official letters to our Ministry of Sports so that there is an opportunity to consider an alternative construction site», – the president of the federation also said.

According to Guk-Senovich, the Kazakhstan Olympic slalom team trains in the same area.

In response to a request from «the authorities», the Ministry of Tourism and Sports reported that rafting in Kazakhstan is not recognized as a sport, and the federation is not officially accredited.

Guk-Senovich says that since its founding in 2005, the federation has been operating at its own expense and has not received any government funding.

«We want, of course, to be included in the register of subsidized sports, but so far, unfortunately, this is not happening,” he said at a press conference in February. –Our sport is already not at the peak of popularity, but it is being kicked–.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports did not answer «the authorities’» questions about how the construction of ten hydroelectric power stations on the Koksu River will affect tourism in the region.

Saltanat Uteshbaeva, head of the tourist club «Triton», says that every year not only athletes, but also simply fans of extreme sports raft along the Koksu River. With the construction of many power plants, the river could lose its tourist attractiveness, she fears.

«I have a five-day route called «Melody of the Coxu River» with a length of 95 kilometers, there are a large number of rapids along the entire length of the route. If a hydroelectric power station is built, some places there will definitely be blocked, somewhere the river will be allowed through concrete canals, somewhere they will flood and store water», – says Uteshbaeva.

She also fears the possible impact of hydroelectric power plants on agriculture in the region.

«There are a lot of beekeepers in the Kerbulak region, and the most sensitive to environmental changes are butterflies and bees. Along the entire river, many entrepreneurs plant crops such as sugar beets, soybeans, and potatoes. With the construction of even one or two hydroelectric power stations, significant damage will be caused to the biodiversity of the Cox River», – she worries.

The akimat of the Koksu district «Authorities» reported that there are more than 1,400 farms growing crops in the region, almost all of which use water from the Koksu River for irrigation.

Construction of two hydroelectric power stations is already underway in the area. «The construction of hydroelectric power stations does not foretell any negative consequences for agriculture», – the akimat is confident.

«There are no environmental criteria by which sites for renewable energy facilities are proposed»

According to the Department of Ecology, so far statements about the planned activities have been received from two companies – Energobildservice LLP, which is building Rudnichnye HPP-1 and HPP-2 «the state examination gave a positive assessment of them back in 2017, as well as from Eskeldinskaya HPP LLP » HPP–, which is building four hydroelectric power stations. At the same time, for one of them, according to the department, an environmental impact assessment is not required, and for another – Talapta HPP – the department issued a conclusion that such an assessment must be carried out.

The comments on this hydroelectric power station indicate that the project must be agreed upon with the department of the industrial safety committee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and with the regional emergency services. In addition, the Department of Ecology indicated that it was also necessary to provide a map diagram with the boundaries of the hydroelectric power station site and the boundaries of lands for health, recreational, historical and cultural purposes and specially protected natural areas.

Documents for the construction of other planned hydroelectric power stations have not yet been received by the regional environmental department.

Director of the public fund «Rivers Without Borders» Alexander Kolotov says that the organization analyzed the reports of the winners of renewable energy auctions.

«They don’t have any environmental criteria anywhere in their rules by which sites for renewable energy facilities are proposed», – says the expert. He is convinced that a preliminary economic assessment of the sites that are being auctioned for renewable energy facilities is needed.

«The total impact from all constructed facilities will be much greater than from each facility individually. There is no talk about this either, no one takes it into account», – Kolotov also notes.

He also says that the «Rivers Without Borders» fund spent two and a half years drawing up a special map that collected data on existing and planned dams on rivers in Central Asia, and also collected data on their impact on ecosystems. Analysis of these data showed that very few valuable biodiversity sites remained in the region.
«Because almost all large rivers are fragmented, there are dams there that prevent many migratory species from spawning or living at all», – states Kolotov.

According to the Zhetysu regional energy department, last year only 38% of electricity consumed came from the region’s own production, the rest was purchased from other sources. According to the plan of the Ministry of Energy, the region provides for the construction of 24 hydroelectric power stations of various capacities on 9 rivers.

The «Rivers Without Borders» fund has already drawn attention to the fact that the cost of electricity from hydroelectric power plants is higher than from other renewable energy sources. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, the cost of construction and electricity production for most types of renewable energy sources continues to fall, while hydroelectric power plants have seen the exact opposite trend: since 2010, the cost of constructing hydroelectric power plants per kilowatt of installed capacity has more than doubled.

«And it is very clear that none of the private investors wants to take risks themselves; everything is built only for state assistance, for state subsidies», says Alexander Kolotov.

The expert also emphasizes that Kazakhstan has signed the Aarhus Convention, and it guarantees that the views of all interested parties must be taken into account.

«As far as we can see from media reports, [in the case of Cox] it just wasn’t. There are certificates that there were some public discussions, but when heavy equipment arrived, it turned out that no one was actually at these hearings, which were on paper», –he also added.

Social activist Andrei Tansari says that the first public hearings on the Rudnichnye HPP allegedly took place in 2017, but the developer does not have their protocol. According to him, a representative of Energobildservice LLP showed the public a list of those present at those hearings, but some residents claim that they did not sign the document.

Another hearing, according to him, was held online on the eco-portal in the fall – after preparations for construction began. At the same time, an announcement about them was published in newspapers to which residents of Rudnichny and Koksu do not subscribe.

Afterwards, according to the social activist, the authorities held a presentation of the Mine Hydroelectric Power Plants, at which they talked about their advantages, and wanted to present this presentation as a hearing.

According to Tansari, the akimat has drawn up an agreement with the company that is building the hydroelectric power station, it lists various requirements that the company will have to fulfill.

«As I understand it, the akimat compiled this list on its own, how they see the development of two villages: Rudnichny and Koksu. They wrote a lot of things to appease the residents, but [the developers], in turn, deny that they will do all this. That is, the residents were appeased by the fact that it would not be done at all, – says the social activist. – Residents can also be understood: they were promised a job, a gym, a cultural center, infrastructure, and a playground. Who wouldn’t want all this? But the fact is that they are not going to do all this».

Olga Loginova, Nazerke Kurmangazinova («Power»)