Turkey and Kyrgyzstan fail to agree on terms of Historical Museum repair

The Turkish and Kyrgyz sides failed to agree on the terms of repair of the State Historical Museum in Bishkek. The office of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in the Kyrgyz Republic confirmed this information.

The media spread information about the suspension of works.

«The Turkish side did not suspend repair of the facility. It fulfills everything that concerns its obligations. And this is external finishing work on the perimeter of the museum within the first stage (external cleaning of the building, replacement of granite slabs, repair of fountains and improvement of the adjacent territory). The Kyrgyz side makes internal repair and design. The work continues,» the agency noted.

In December 2016, the Program Coordinator of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency under the Prime Minister’s office of Turkey (TICA) in the Kyrgyz Republic, Evren Rutbil, told 24.kg news agency about the work within the second stage.

The museum’s interior was undergoing major repairs: electricity, ventilation, internal glass, repair of administrative offices, toilets including equipping the museum with new exposition equipment. Why did the plans change?

«At that time, the Turkish side took the whole project upon itself. However, both sides did not agree on an accelerated schedule of work. The Kyrgyz side wanted an accelerated variant. Turkey can not do it in such term,» TIKA explained.

Since March 25, 2016, the State Historical Museum has been closed for visitors in connection with the reconstruction. The approximate cost of the work was $ 15 million. This is a 100% Turkish grant.

TIKA set the task to finish work by the fall of 2017. TIKA did not specify the terms by Kyrgyzstan.