He expressed his opinion during a round table on the topic "Political Situation in the Eurasian Space" at the international press center of the IA. In his view, the project would be mutually beneficial not only for Kyrgyzstan but also for Kazakhstan and neighboring Uzbekistan. Despite the statement made by Islam Karimov in the fall of 2015 that the construction of hydropower plants would lead to a shortage of irrigation water in the republic, that canals would dry up, and this would impact the harvest of vegetables and fruits, which account for 10% of the republic's total exports, and would subsequently lead to military conflict in the region.
- We talked about Kambar-Ata-1 for three years, but despite the fact that it was designed in Soviet times by "Tashkentgidroproyekt," the current authorities of Uzbekistan turned out to be against the construction of the hydropower plant. However, if we had built a reservoir with a capacity of 5 million cubic meters of water, we would have improved the irrigation situation for both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. And I believe the reason for Russia's refusal to build the hydropower plant is not the crisis. The reason is that Russia does not want to escalate relations with Uzbekistan. And to make this denunciation appear connected to the crisis, the Russians also refused the Upper Naryn cascade of hydropower plants, which is economically cheaper. If they had decided to build it, abandoning Kambar-Ata, it would have seemed that they were afraid of a quarrel with Uzbekistan! – concluded the specialist.
Karybek Alymkulovich also believes that participation in the regional CASA-1000 project is quite beneficial for the republic. The modern and efficient CASA-1000 power line system will help create a regional electricity market in Central and South Asia (CASAREM). CASAREM will enhance electricity transmission systems and stimulate interregional cooperation between the countries of Central and South Asia. However, there are also risks associated with participation in the project.
- We have entered the construction of the CASA-1000 lines passing through the territory of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. How beneficial is this for us? Yes, it is beneficial. We can sell electricity for 9-10 cents, but in the summer, when there is water - we cannot do this in winter. However, there is also a political risk: in Afghanistan, the Taliban often blow up power lines; if we build them, they will blow them up, thus, the funds will be invested irrationally, - notes Alymkulov.