Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 23
By Nigar Guliyeva – Trend:
Uzbekistan wants to be a shareholder in the construction of Kambarata HPP-1, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Sopar Isakov said during the session of the Supreme Council Nov.23, Uzbek media reported.
"Good negotiations were held on KAGES-1. President of the Kyrgyz Republic Almazbek Atambayev and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev achieved good results. In addition, Uzbekistan voices idea to enter as a shareholder in the project. Therefore, we think, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and other neighboring countries should build this hydroelectric power station," he said.
In early October, Uzbekhydroenergo, which owns hydroelectric power plants of Uzbekistan, signed a memorandum on cooperation in the construction of Kambarata HPP-1 with the Kyrgyz National Energy Holding Company.
Earlier, Uzbekistan opposed the construction of Kambarata-1 and Upper-Naryn cascade of HPPs, as well as the construction of the Rogun hydroelectric power station in Tajikistan.
The Kambarata HPP 1 was vehemently opposed by Uzbekistan under its previous president, Islam Karimov, for fear the dam would block large amounts of water upriver and deprive Uzbekistan’s downstream agricultural lands from securing sufficient volumes of irrigation water. But now Tashkent eased that opposition. The 1,860-megawatt (MW) hydroelectric power plant comes at a steep price of $3 billion, according to the feasibility study carried out by a Canadian company back in 2014.