Government wants to build schools in partnership with business

The government of Kyrgyzstan wants to build schools jointly with the business — on the basis of public-private partnership (PPP). This was stated today at a working meeting by the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Sapar Isakov.

Participants of the meeting discussed the proposal of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to assist the Ministry of Education and Science in finding private investors for financing, building and maintaining schools based on PPP.

It is noted that due to the poor quality of construction and condition of schools, there are high utility costs for heating and lighting of their buildings. It is expected that the construction of schools based on PPP will solve the problem of lack of budget funds, accelerate the construction of educational institutions, improve the quality of infrastructure thanks to regular maintenance by the investor.

The head of government stressed the need to use modern energy-efficient technologies in the construction of new schools, which will significantly reduce the cost of electricity and heating. The Prime Minister stressed that the PPP mechanism for the construction and reconstruction of schools in the country should become a large-scale and long-term project.

Sapar Isakov instructed the Ministry of Education and Science together with the International Finance Corporation to develop a feasibility study of the PPP project for the construction of schools, taking into account the needs of the regions of the country.

The State Agency of Architecture, Construction, Housing and Communal Services was instructed to develop clear, unified criteria for the construction of new educational institutions in the country.