Bishkek (AKIpress) – President Sadyr Japarov responded to criticism related to the provision of land to investors, rising government debt, the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, an increase in the flow of foreign tourists and electricity shortages.
President statedthat the lands of Kyrgyzstan are not for sale, and plots for investment projects occupy less than 0.1% of the country’s territory and must be returned to the state if investors fail to fulfill their obligations.
By in his wordspublic debt amounts to 39% of GDP, and attracted loans are directed to specific projects. Before him, public debt was 120% of GDP.
Railway head of state called the future “the second Kumtor”, capable of leading the country out of the transport impasse.
He associated the increase in the number of tourists to 13 million with economic development, and the persistent energy shortage with constant increase in electricity consumptiondespite the construction of about 50 small and medium-sized hydroelectric power plants over the past five years.
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Each of these topics is continued. Today the Minister of Energy Altynbek Rysbekov reportedthat on July 19, electricity consumption in Kyrgyzstan reached a historical summer record of 50.1 million kWh.
The minister linked the increase in consumption with rising temperatures and explained that when the heat is 45 degrees, line capacity drops by 25%. “We have a hopeless situation. So that our equipment does not get damaged, so that there are no accidents, so that it does not burn out, we had to carry out preventive regulatory measures,” he said.
But still, the problems of deteriorating infrastructure had to be partially recognized. According to him, previously it was not possible to replace the large 220 and 110 kilovolt lines that provide power supply to Bishkek. That’s why the president will allocate $300 million from its fund for the construction of lines and substations for power supply to Bishkek.
The money will be used to build a line between the existing Kemin substation in Kemin, the planned 500 kilovolt station in Bishkek and the existing Frunzenskaya substation (Chaldovar). In turn, the Ministry of Energy intends build a substation in Bishkek voltage 500 kilovolts.
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“Attempts to use the topic of external debt for black PR will not achieve their goal,” – wrote last week head of the Cabinet of Ministers Kasymaliev.
Proportionally, the debt decreases due to the rapid growth of GDP. In figures, the national debt as of May 31, 2026, according to the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic, amounted to 9 billion 951 million US dollars. Of these, internal public debt amounted to 4 billion 739 million US dollars, external debt – 5 billion 212 million US dollars.
According to the Ministry of Finance, as of December 31, 2020, the country’s national debt amounted to 4 billion 928 million US dollars. Of these, the internal debt was $708.36 million, and the external debt was $4.22 billion.
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Judging by the statements of the Presidential Administration, the statements that “the Chinese have taken over the country”, “land is being sold”, “external debt is growing” were seen as deliberate actions by supporters of former officials.
Attempts to politically mobilize the opposition with anti-Chinese insistence have always been present in domestic politics. Thirty years ago, for example, the opposition opposed the demarcation of the border with China (and with other neighbors). The most famous recent rallies in Bishkek took place in the winter of 2018-2019, when the president was Jeenbekov.
Now the situation has undergone significant changes – China’s political and economic influence in the region has grown, as has the visualization of the Chinese presence in Kyrgyzstan. However, economic growth and improved living standards of Kyrgyzstanis are closely linked to Chinese investment, trade and labor.
