Bishkek is the capital of Kirgizstan and by far the biggest City in the country, with a population of more than 900’000 people. The Bishkek Water Company ("Bishkekvodokanal" or "BVK") is a municipal enterprise serving the City of Bishkek and surrounding rural areas. It provides potable water supply for domestic, commercial and public sector customers and collects and treats wastewater. BVK serves about 950,000 people and 5,500 industrial, commercial, and public sector customers. The proposed operation will rehabilitate the municipal water supply infrastructure.

The objective is to restore an uninterrupted supply of better quality water to customers, to strengthen the capacity of the company in technical, organisational and financial aspects and to reduce the company's costs.

The project has two main objectives:

1. Investment in Infrastructure: To rehabilitate the municipal water supply infrastructure by replacing the most deteriorated parts of the water mains and distribution network, installing new water disinfection equipment, modernising pumping equipment, installing meters, rehabilitating boreholes and water intakes, as well as providing vehicles for emergency repairs and regular maintenance.

2. Investment in Institutional Development & Capacity Building: To assist BVK to increase its capacity in terms of corporate development and stakeholder participation, including the preparation of a business plan, an investment plan, a tariff reform plan, a new accounting system and plans for financial, operational and environmental management.

Expected results:  

The output of the Project will be a functioning water supply system for the City of Bishkek, according to the standards specified. The financial and operational performance of BVK improves to a level necessary to operate the whole water supply system. Necessary long term investments in water and waste water system are identified, planned and closely coordinated with the Government. Customers are billed according to actual consumption and are informed about hygiene issues, tariffs, water meters and water conservation.

Phase 2 05.07.2009 - 31.12.2020   (Completed)