Photo: Press Service of the National Investment Agency under the President of Kyrgyzstan
Near Lake Issyk-Kul, a ceremony was held to mark the start of construction of the new city of Asman, which will cover more than 4,000 hectares, reports 24.kg, citing the National Investment Agency under the President of Kyrgyzstan.
According to the publication, the event was attended by “top state officials,” although the specific participants were not disclosed.
The National Investment Agency stated that the city will be built in phases, with implementation entrusted to private construction companies. Agency head Ravshan Sabirov noted that one company was allocated 100 hectares of land, another 80 hectares.
“We invite all construction companies to participate in building the city. The conditions are the same for everyone. Those who wish to implement their projects and innovative ideas can contact the Asman Directorate,” the official said.
Currently, the contractors are two companies: China Railway Construction Corporation (China) and the Kyrgyz company Elite House. According to 24.kg, the local company is connected to businessman Timur Faiziev, who was detained in 2021 on suspicion of corruption.
The Kyrgyz government had previously launched the construction of Asman. In June 2023, the president of the country, Sadyr Japarov, laid the foundation capsule for the “smart city” on Issyk-Kul. During the ceremony, he stated that the project would not use any state budget funds and encouraged investors to boldly contribute to creating the new settlement.
At that time, it was clarified that Asman (the name translates to “sky” in Russian) would cover 4,015 hectares and accommodate 500,000–700,000 residents. The investment in the project was planned at $20 billion, with construction expected to take 7–8 years.
Later, contractors were selected, but work did not commence. In May of this year, the Kyrgyz government terminated the investment agreement for the “Construction of the Environmentally Friendly City of Asman” project with the Chinese company CITIC Merchant and the local enterprise Module House. The reasons for the termination were not disclosed.
