Letter to the Minister of Energy of the Kyrgyz Republic regarding the construction of a nuclear power plant under consideration in Kyrgyzstan

Ref. No.: 15122023-01 dated 12/18/2023

To the Minister of Energy of the Kyrgyz Republic, Mr. Ibraev T.O.

Dear Taalaibek Omukeevich,

Representatives of the Green Alliance of Kyrgyzstan, which unites more than 50 environmental organizations of the Kyrgyz Republic, are contacting you.

Previously, we sent a request to your ministry regarding the construction of a nuclear power plant under consideration in Kyrgyzstan on 07/10/23. In response to our letter, we received from the Ministry of Energy on August 18, 2023, a rather vague and streamlined answer that the issue was only being considered and a final decision had not been made.

We learned from the media that active meetings and work are underway to implement the agreements reached in 2022 on the construction of a nuclear power plant on the territory of Kyrgyzstan. In particular, the Rosatom State Corporation met with the Ministry of Energy of the Kyrgyz Republic and sent a justification for the project[1] for the construction of a low-power nuclear power plant based on the RITM-200N reactor plant in Kyrgyzstan.[2]

In connection with this information, based on the “Law on Access to Information Managed by State Bodies and Local Self-Government Bodies of the Kyrgyz Republic”, Articles 3 and 4, and the “Law on Environmental Protection of the Kyrgyz Republic”, Articles 3, 45 and 46, we ask you to provide us with the text of the feasibility study for the construction of a nuclear power plant, and the conclusion of an EIA, which should also be carried out in accordance with the “Law on Environmental Expertise of the Kyrgyz Republic”, Articles 10 and 15.

We ask you to provide the required information within two weeks, in accordance with the law. Also, according to the law, it is necessary to conduct public hearings with the involvement of the general public, and consideration of all alternative options for this project, including “without the construction of a nuclear power plant.”

sincerely

Ilgiz Kambarov

Executive Director

Green Alliance KG