The President of Kyrgyzstan gave another interview to journalists of the state media. He told about the situation with the country’s external debt.
According to Sadyr Japarov, from now on there is no reason to worry about foreign borrowings. There is no threat.
He noted that previously received loans were not used for implementation of self-sustaining projects. The money disappeared as if into sand. The last loans taken for the alternative North-South road, Datka-Kemin, modernization of the heating and power plant were right. We needed those projects. But they cost the ciuntry twice as much. Control was very poor, there was theft.
«These projects could have been finished for half the cost. And the payback period would have been shorter. Now the deadline for paying off these debts has come and we have started paying them off. By 2035, we will pay off the debts previously incurred. Some of our citizens are criticizing by saying: «You said you would pay off the debt in two or three years, why haven’t you?» We can gather all our reserves and pay it off. Our state has the strength to do it. It used to be different. You know it well.
But when we got loans, there were conditions in the contract: «If you want to pay off your debt early, the interest rate will be much higher.» That’s not favorable to us. These are unreasonable costs.
So we will pay the debt on schedule. There is no risk in that. Because you see how many times our budget has increased. Indeed, earlier there were fears that we would not be able to repay our foreign debt, because our budget was weak,» the head of state said.
Sadyr Japarov added that «we have accurately calculated what project, under what conditions and when will be self-sufficient. Now we are acting based on the principle » triple check to make sure«.
«I will give just one example: we are ready to take a loan for the construction of Kambarata HPP-1. We will soon receive the funds. If Kambarata-1 HPP is completed, it will pay off in 12-13 years. After that, like the Toktogul HPP, it will benefit the state throughout its operation time.
And China — Kyrgyzstan — Uzbekistan railroad makes you think. The sum is very large. This project will pay off in 35-40 years. But our state will become a transit state. This road will serve the Kyrgyz people and our country for a lifetime. We are looking for ways to implement this project in a different way, and not at the expense of foreign borrowings. God willing, we will solve this problem. Soon we will start construction of the railroad,» the president commented.
He urged Kyrgyzstanis not to worry about debts taken for other projects. Every current project is a project that will pay for itself without affecting the state budget. Some previous projects have not paid for themselves.
«We’re not going to let that happen again. We will do all the calculations before we start implementation. We will not approve projects that will not pay for themselves in the short term. So there is no cause for concern. You don’t have to raise this topic anymore. There is no need to politicize it,» he concluded.
