Dushanbe, 22. 01. 2016 (NIAT «Khovar») .- Kyrgyzstan’s President Almazbek Atambayev has signed off on the termination of the agreement with Russia on the construction and operation of Kambarata GES-1 and Verkhne-Narynsky cascade of hydropower plants (HPPs), the president’s press service announced on Friday.

The Foreign Ministry of Kyrgyzstan will have to inform the Russian government about the termination in accordance with the established procedure. The laws signed by the president of Kyrgyzstan will take effect 15 days after their official publication.

Atambayev said at the end of December 2015 that Russia was no longer able to finance projects in Kyrgyzstan as a result of economic decline and oil price slump. According to him, the two HPP projects were worth around $3bn.

The Kyrgyz president said that he had discussed this issue with the Russian president. Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that there were difficulties with implementing the projects caused by economic and commercial problems.

In 2009, Kyrgyzstan and Russia signed an agreement on the construction and operation of Kambarata GES-1 HPP. Russia provided Kyrgyzstan with a $1.7bn loan at that time to build the HPP with a capacity of 1.6-1.9 MW.

Additionally, Kyrgyzstan received a government loan worth $300m and a non-repayable grant worth $150m. Construction of the Verkhne-Narynsky cascade of HPPs was carried out in 2013-2015 in accordance with the agreement between Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Russia undertook obligations to finance the construction.