Kyrgyzstan May Reclaim Four Issyk-Kul Resorts Leased to Kazakhstan if Agreement Terms Are Not Met

Four lakeside recreation areas currently leased by Kazakhstan may be returned to Kyrgyzstan if newly updated terms of their lease are not fulfilled, Orda.kz reports, citing Kaktus Media.

On April 14, Kyrgyzstan’s Jogorku Kenesh Committee on International Affairs approved a draft law amending the site agreement. The law passed all three readings.

Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce Iskender Asylkulov recalled that the original agreement, signed 19 years ago by the governments of the two countries, allowed Kazakhstan to lease four recreation areas on Issyk-Kul Lake under the condition that they would be modernized.

The properties include the Olimp sports and recreation center, the Samal recreation center, the Universitet sports and recreation camp, and the Kazakhstan sanatorium.

However, the original agreement did not clearly define Kazakhstan’s obligations and responsibilities regarding these facilities. In 2009, both sides signed an additional agreement transferring the land plots where the resorts are located to Kazakhstan for a 49-year term.

In 2023, the agreement was revised to better define the Kazakh side’s responsibilities, and in December, a formal protocol was signed to amend the 2006 deal.

According to the new terms, Kazakhstan must complete the reconstruction of the facilities by December 31, 2029. The Kazakhstan sanatorium must be upgraded to a four-star hotel, while the University and Samal centers are to meet three-star standards.

Olimp must be developed into a fully-fledged sports complex.

If these conditions are not met within five years, the objects will be returned to the ownership of Kyrgyzstan without compensation for costs,
the Deputy Minister explained. 

The agreement previously required that at least 80% of reconstruction workers be Kyrgyzstan citizens. Under the amended version, that threshold has been raised to 90%.

Original Author: Raushan Korzhumbekova