On February 5, 2024, a shipment of 2,000 tons of liquefied gas (57 tank wagons) arrived at the Shopokov railway station in Kyrgyzstan. This humanitarian aid, sent upon the initiative of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, was provided free of charge by Turkmenistan in response to the recent accident at the Bishkek CHP plant.
Representatives from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Enterprise Kyrgyztransneftegaz, State Enterprise NK Kyrgyz Temir Zholu, and Ambassador of Turkmenistan to the Kyrgyz Republic N. Goliev were present at the handover ceremony.
The liquefied gas was sourced from the Naip Liquefied Gas Production enterprise in Turkmenistan’s Lebap province.
This timely relief comes as Kyrgyzstan faces energy challenges following the explosion and fire at the Bishkek CHP plant on 2 February.
Uzbekistan also sent humanitarian cargo to the Kyrgyz Republic in the form of thousand of cylinders with natural gas. Kazakhstan has increased electricity supplies to Kyrgyzstan.
The Bishkek thermal power plant is one of the most important power generating stations in Kyrgyzstan. The Bishkek CHP plant has provided from 8% to 14% of electricity production in Kyrgyzstan over the past 5 years, Tazabek writes, citing data from the National Statistical Committee. By the end of 2023, all Kyrgyzstan power plants produced 13.8 billion kilowatt-hours, of which 13% (1.8 billion kWh) was generated by the Bishkek CHP. ///nCa, 5 February 2024 (photo credit – MFA Kyrgyzstan)