Japanese company Nikken Experience Integrated will prepare an analysis of Bishkek’s future development, which will be used in the development of a new General Plan of the capital. The Chief Architect of Bishkek, Urmat Karybaev, said at a press conference.
Urmat Karybaev recalled that in May the mayor was in Tokyo and signed a Memorandum of Cooperation between the company Nikken Experience Integrated and the City Hall of Bishkek.
«Then an agreement was signed on work in the field of urban planning, urbanism and city planning. This company has extensive experience in urban planning. It ranks first in the world in the development of urban planning documentation,» he said.
Urmat Karybaev added that within the framework of the administrative-territorial reform the territory of the capital has increased three times, moreover, the General Plan will expire in 2025. The City Hall has set a task to conduct a full analysis of the city with specialists from Japan. They have already arrived in the capital and inspected it together with mayor Aibek Dzhunushaliev by helicopter the day before.
«They looked at the condition of the city and the new territories that have become part of Bishkek. It was seen which parts of the capital are developing, which parts remained undeveloped. They paid special attention to transportation, industrial zones, new facilities, including those under construction. After that we walked through the sights, rivers, roads and other objects. We provided information on how the city developed, about existing problems, told about transportation, green zones, design code, engineering infrastructure, developments and so on,» the chief architect said.
The result of the Japanese specialists’ work will be an analysis of Bishkek’s future development. According to Urmat Karybaev, this work may take 3-4 months. After that, the preparation and development of the capital’s General Plan will begin.
Aziret Akimov, deputy head of Bishkekglavarhitektura, added that it was planned to update the current General Plan as it contains unrealized strategic foundations.
«But since the territories of two districts of Chui region were annexed to the city as part of the administrative-territorial reform, it prompted us to develop a new General Plan,» he said.
The document will be designed until 2050, he said, so it is important to conduct a qualitative analysis at the first stage.
Fadi Jabri, executive director of the Japanese company, noted that Bishkek is a wonderful city with a good structure.
«These boulevards are wonderful, roads that look towards the mountains, beautiful rivers, they may need more attention. The nature around is beautiful. There is potential. We got acquainted with global issues, learned how the city is developing now, that the entertainment space is located near the mountains, in the southern part, and the northern part is more logistical. The wings of the city are residential areas. We need to think so that there is no pendulum ride to the center, so that there are centers of attraction in the wings,» he said.
The specialist added that Bishkek has many beautiful «parade» places and it is necessary to think how to make them attractive, convenient and comfortable for people.
