Azerbaijan, Baku, April 16 / Trend E. Kosolapova/
Kazakh company KazTransGas warned the Kyrgyz company Kyrgyzgaz about cessation of gas supplies from May 1 due to its $7.5 million debt, Tazabek reported.
"Currently, the Kyrgyz debt to the KazTransGas hit $7.5 million and debt to the Uzbek company Uztransgaz hit $800,000. Kazakhstan warned us that if we do not pay the debt in near future, they will stop gas supplies," Kyrgyzgaz's General Director Turgunbek Kulmurzaev said at the company's shareholders meeting on Monday.
Kulmurzaev added that Kyrgyzgaz sold 249.3 million cubic meters of gas worth 4.09 billion soms in 2011 (100 soms = $2.1355). About 98.9 percent of payments for this gas or 4.39 billion soms were received. Gas consumers' debt to Kyrgyzgaz hit 471.2 million soms.
Kyrgyz people pay for gas consciously, Kulmurzaev said. The main debtors are state organizations.
"As soon as industrial enterprises pay out the debts, we will be able to pay to KazTransGas and Uztransgaz," - he said.
Moreover, currently the government is taking steps to repay the debts of the state enterprise KyrgyzZhilkommunSoyuz. About 100 million soms will be allocated to this purpose.
In general, Kyrgyzgaz imported 323.1 million cubic meters of natural gas in 2011 (gas supplies increased by 35.7 million cubic meters in this period).