Project on construction of logistics center scuttled in At-Bashi

At-Bashi Kyrgyz-Kytai Erkin Sooda Aimagi company scuttled a project on construction of an industrial trade and logistics center. Press service of Naryn Free Economic Zone reported.

The contract for lease of 200-hectare land plot for a period of 49 years was terminated.

«At present, we are preparing a letter to the Government on return of more than 43 million soms paid earlier by the investor as reimbursement of agricultural losses,» the FEZ said.

The statement by At-Bashi Kyrgyz-Kytai Erkin Sooda Aimagy LLC states that the company planned to invest $ 280 million in the logistics center in At-Bashi district. These funds were allocated from the company’s own resources and the Government of Kyrgyzstan did not provide any guarantees for these investments. The company took all the risks.

«During negotiations with authorities of the country, we agreed on the condition that the administration of Naryn FEZ will have the right to unilaterally terminate the contract with us in case of disruption of the schedule for construction of facilities. The personnel department of the company drew up plans for organizing training of required specialists from among local youth, began to compile a list for sending them to study at foreign universities. Local construction companies and suppliers of construction materials were getting ready to fulfill our orders,» the statement says.

At least 15,000 employees were needed during construction of the logistics center and with the beginning of its operation. In the first eight years, several billion soms would come to budgets of various levels only in the form of taxes and deductions from wages.

At-Bashi Kyrgyz-Kytai Erkin Sooda Aimagi

«Unfortunately, a negative attitude towards the project has developed among residents of At-Bashi district, which is expressed in past protests. We believe that it is impossible to work on a long-term large-scale project in a situation when part of the local population opposes construction of the logistics center, and therefore we are forced to make a decision to close it,» the company explained.

Recall, Naryn Free Economic Zone leased 200 hectares of land in At-Bashi district to the Kyrgyz-Chinese enterprise At-Bashi SEZ for 49 years, which is headed by a Chinese investor Liu Ying and a local businessman Emilbek Abdykadyrov. The company received land for a project on construction of the logistics center. The construction began in December last year. The local population opposed Chinese investors and repeatedly held rallies.