Officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have concluded another round of negotiations in Istanbul regarding the construction of the Kambarata-1 hydropower project, moving forward with plans to establish a trilateral joint venture. The talks were held with organizational support from the World Bank.
The project, planned on the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan, involves the construction of a facility with an installed capacity of 1,860 megawatts. Regional governments view the plant as an instrument to balance the regional power grid and regulate river flow, while adding substantial renewable capacity to Central Asia.
During the meetings, delegations focused on the technical parameters of the development. Officials reviewed engineering aspects of the dam, exchanged data on auxiliary infrastructure, and agreed on a procedure for the design phase. The joint model under discussion anticipates that the three countries will share both the capital investment burden and the resulting electrical output.
The commissioning of the site is expected to alter resource management across the basin. Upstream Kyrgyzstan intends to use the plant to expand electricity exports, while downstream Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan rely on the reservoir to ensure predictable water supplies during the agricultural irrigation season.
