Initially, it was planned that the document would be created by the Japanese, however, its finalization took place in St. Petersburg
Deputy Head of the Main Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of the Ministry of Construction Aziret Akimov noted that the general plan is a serious strategic document that requires a scientific approach. “Unfortunately, our country lacks economists in the construction sector,” he emphasized, explaining why the project was assigned to foreign architects.
In an interview on “Birinchi Radio,” Akimov stated that the previous general plan of Bishkek (then known as Frunze) was developed by the Central Scientific Research Institute of Moscow and then adapted by the Kyrgyz Scientific Research Institute.
In 2006, the general plan was developed by the Kyrgyz Scientific Research Institute, which at that time had all the necessary scientific resources and qualified specialists.
In creating the new general plan, the Ministry of Construction focused on current global trends in architecture and urban planning.
“Bishkek remained the only city in Central Asia without an up-to-date general plan. We studied the experience of the best design organizations in the world. For example, the Japanese company Nikken Sekkei, which worked on the concept of the general plan for Bishkek, held leading positions in international rankings of design companies. In 2023, it ranked first in the world, which was the reason for choosing this company. This is related to both new technologies and their fresh perspective on ongoing processes,” Akimov explained.
Japanese architects visited Bishkek three or four times, where they collected and analyzed data for several months. Based on the information obtained, a concept for the general plan was developed, which includes economic, transport, and engineering blocks, the official added.
“In these areas, we face a serious shortage of specialists, and this needs to be openly discussed. In 2019, we tried to develop a detailed planning project for the central part of Bishkek with our own resources, but we could not find economists and transport specialists throughout Kyrgyzstan. These circumstances mutually influenced each other. As a result, a decision was made to collaborate with a Japanese company and the St. Petersburg Scientific Research Institute to develop the general plan,” Akimov noted. He also added that the new general plan will be the first urban planning document in Central Asia created in digital format and linked to cadastral data.
It should be noted that the funding for the development of the general plan was provided by foreign investors.
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