Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan held technical talks supported by the World Bank in Istanbul on October 30, 2026, to advance their planned joint Kambarata-1 hydropower plant in Kyrgyzstan.
According to Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry, the delegations discussed technical issues and next steps. They also discussed ways to improve cooperation on managing water and energy in the region, the ministry said. Kazakhstan sent Deputy Energy Minister Yerzhan Yertayev and Deputy Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Arsen Zhakanbayev.
The planned plant has a capacity of 1,860 megawatts and is on the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan. It is planned upstream from existing hydropower facilities. The World Bank says the project could generate about 6,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year.
That could help meet Central Asia’s growing energy needs. The Istanbul meeting came after three rounds of negotiations in 2026, held in Bishkek, Tashkent and Almaty. The negotiations concerned a draft agreement between the governments on carrying out the project together.
Some parts of the agreement reportedly advanced in Almaty. The agreement remains unsigned. It is not clear whether the Istanbul technical talks were part of those negotiations.
The three governments signed an agreement in June 2024 to pursue the project together. The project connects electricity generation with shared management of water across the region.