State suffers significant losses during installation of water meters in Talas

The State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan (SCNS) reports that during an inspection of the water meter installation project in Talas, significant violations were identified, resulting in losses to the state of 23,076,694 soms. The contractor has returned these funds in full to a special account of the security services.

In 2019, the municipal enterprise Taza Suu signed a contract with P LLC for €349,700 euros for the supply and installation of 6,000 water meters. This contract included equipment supply, installation, testing, commissioning, and the execution of acceptance certificates.

However, the inspection found that the supplied meters were not functioning, approximately 580 were missing, and 4,000 meters of polyethylene pipes were purchased at €35 (approximately 3,500 soms) per meter, while their actual cost was approximately 15 soms (at the time of purchase). After the warranty period expired, the contractor’s guarantee payments were returned without any quality or workmanship inspections.

Furthermore, since 2022, residents have continued to pay for water according to the old system based on the number of people living in the building, despite the announced implementation of a metering system.