Finance

EBRD to finance rehab of 7.6 MW Lebedinovskaya small hydropower project

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a financial package of €13.8 million (US$14.7 million) to rehabilitate and modernize the 7.6 MW Lebedinovskaya small hydropower project in the Kyrgyz Republic.

This financial package for Chakan GES, the state-owned hydropower operator of nine small hydro power plants, comprises an EBRD sovereign loan of €8.8 million ($9.4 million) and an investment grant of €5 million ($5.3 million).

The Lebedinovskaya hydropower project, commissioned from 1943 to 1948, provides power to Bishkek, but its equipment is old, inefficient and urgently in need of replacement, EBRD said. The proposed improvements in productivity will help increase its annual electricity output by 56%, bringing it to 50,300 MWh. New efficiency and safety measures will help Chakan GES improve the hydro plant’s resilience to climate change and adapt to changing water flow levels.

EBRD said it “is improving the energy security of Bishkek, the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic, and the climate resilience of the national energy system.” The bank said this is its largest investment in the country’s hydro power sector in 20 years. The bank, which became fully aligned with the Paris Agreement in 2022, is helping the Kyrgyz Republic plan its green transition. The project will promote the sustainable use of water, which is important in a country badly affected by climate change, according to a release. It will contribute to national efforts to solve the long-time operational issues of the country’s aged and inefficient hydroelectric power infrastructure.

Technical cooperation funding from Austria under the High-Impact Partnership on Climate Action (HIPCA) will complement the bank’s investment and support to Chakan GES in managing and implementing the rehabilitation project.

To date, the EBRD has invested €881 million ($940.8 million) in the Kyrgyz Republic through 219 projects, with the majority of those funds going to support private entrepreneurship.