Sadyr Japarov at a meeting in the Talas Region. Photo courtesy of the Kyrgyz Presidential Press Service
President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov has threatened to bring the country's gas distribution system back under state control—following the precedent set by the Kumtor gold mine—if Russian energy giant Gazprom fails to meet its commitments to fully gasify the republic. As reported by Kaktus.media, the head of state made the remarks on November 3 during a meeting with residents of the Aitmatov and Manas districts in the Talas Region, responding to a local resident's plea to supply natural gas to a border village.
Japarov recalled that Kyrgyzstan's gas network was sold to Gazprom in 2013 for a symbolic one dollar.
“Gazprom is the owner. I believe it was sold until 2039 for $1. Remember 2013? They said: 'We do not need Kyrgyzgaz, we need gas'—and sold it. Therefore, within Kyrgyzstan, we can address gas-related issues only with them,” the president said.
At the same time, he pointed out that upon acquiring the assets, the Russian side undertook to finance the gasification of the entire republic.
“The agreement contains clauses stipulating that Gazprom must allocate funds to gasify the entire country. Yet these clauses remain unfulfilled to this day. I have been raising this issue for two or three years now, telling Gazprom: 'If you do not do it, I will take it back, just like Kumtor, and do it myself,'” Japarov said.
The president added that until the gas infrastructure formally returns to state ownership, he cannot make firm commitments to the public regarding timelines for laying pipelines to particular settlements.
At a meeting of the Jogorku Kenesh (Kyrgyzstan's parliament) in October this year, Bishkek Mayor Aibek Dzhunushaliev called for tightening demands on Gazprom, pointing to chronic delays in connecting new residential developments in the capital to the grid. Parliamentary Speaker Marlen Mamataliev said he had held discussions with company leadership and asked when work on the residential quarters would resume.
“They told me bluntly that existing capacity is insufficient and that we have to wait until a new gas pipeline from Russia is constructed. That will become possible only in 2028,” the speaker said.
He also noted that Kyrgyzstan had previously secured a $50 million loan to combat urban smog, part of which could have been used “to purchase pipes so that Gazprom could gasify at least five or six residential districts this year.”
Gazprom Kyrgyzstan representative Arzymat Aldayarov confirmed the pause in gasification nationwide and cited two primary factors:
▪️ The throughput capacity of the sole trunk pipeline running across the territory of a neighboring state operated at up to 115% of designed capacity during the previous heating season;
▪️ Gazprom Kyrgyzstan reallocated investment funds toward upgrading the Malovodnaya gas distribution station, without which, according to company estimates, the capital cannot be fully gasified.
The reference to Kumtor evokes the precedent of 2021–2022, when Kyrgyzstan reclaimed ownership of its largest gold deposit, previously operated by Canada's Centerra Gold. The government concluded an asset transfer agreement with the foreign investor, enabling Bishkek to significantly boost national budget revenues from gold extraction.
According to official data, Kyrgyzstan's gasification rate expanded from 22% in 2014 to 40% in 2024. Gazprom Kyrgyzstan previously stated plans to raise that figure to 60% by 2030. In April 2026, Russian Ambassador to Bishkek Sergey Vakunov reported that the company had already invested around $400 million in constructing gas distribution infrastructure across the republic.
▪️ Kumtor is Kyrgyzstan's largest gold deposit, operated by Canadian firms since 1992—first Cameco, then Centerra Gold. In 2022, Kyrgyzstan reclaimed control over Kumtor, substantially expanding state budget revenues from gold production.
