Mayor of Bishkek Emilbek Abdykadyrov called the construction of a waste sorting or incineration plant the number one issue at a press conference.
The mayor recalled that €22 million euros (half is a loan, half is a grant) were allocated to improve the solid waste management system in Bishkek in 2017. «At least €11 million remained of the sum. There were a lot of talks that the money was used inefficiently. When I took office, I started with this issue. Our internal audit is working, the Chamber of Accounts is studying where that 11 million went. But, nevertheless, we should not wait, and should build at least a waste-sorting line for the remaining 11 million. Even that will reduce the volume of buried waste by a third,» he said.
Emilbek Abdykadyrov added that in parallel, the City Hall is studying the possibility of building a full-fledged waste processing or incineration plant. «I have been working for two months, there were several meetings with donors, investors, ambassadors of many countries. This week we plan to sign a memorandum with a German company to build the plant,» he said.
The mayor added that the plant would, probably, also recycle garbage from two border districts of Chui region. «The more garbage the plant recycles, the more profitable it is and these districts won’t have to build their own enterprises,» he added.
In 2013, the Government of Kyrgyzstan and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development signed a loan agreement to finance the project «Improvement of solid waste management system in Bishkek.» It implied the construction of a waste processing and sorting plant. Under the project, the capital was allocated €22 million. Half of this money was a loan that the country will pay back with interest.
Because of the delay in implementation of the project on opening of the new landfill and reclamation of the old one, Bishkek is paying a fine of 14 million soms for unused funds.
