BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 27. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has committed over €60 million to finance improvements in water and wastewater infrastructure in the Kyrgyz Republic since 2009, Trend reports.
"Fresh water is an increasingly scarce resource, and widespread participation in properly priced municipal water provision can help prevent excessive water usage. While the Kyrgyz Republic has improved its municipal water infrastructure over the last 20 years, popular resistance to price increases has hindered the introduction of cost-reflective tariffs," the EBRD said.
The EBRD also explored how households responded to improved water infrastructure in the Kyrgyz Republic.
This study reveals that, even with an expectation of having a water meter in the future, households respond to improved water infrastructure by increasing their uptake of municipal water services.
"This supports cost recovery and allows for centralized management of scarce water resources, which is important for environmental sustainability. However, our research also finds that tap adoption is associated with an increase in bathing time, which may boost water consumption. Metering could fail to motivate water conservation if this demand is inelastic," the EBRD said
Therefore, complementary campaigns may be needed, alongside meters. For example, encouraging water-efficient kitchen and bathroom hardware (such as low-flow shower heads and water-saving toilets) or using carefully designed social comparison nudges on water bills may be effective. Further research is needed to assess how metered billing affects water consumption and time spent on activities that use large volumes of water," the EBRD added.
This study shows that households adjust their willingness to install water taps, but face monetary difficulties.
Meanwhile, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested 41 million euros in Kyrgyzstan in 2022, marking the second-highest funding amount provided by the bank to the country in the past five years. The largest funding amount during this period was 46 million euros in 2019.
The current loan portfolio of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Kyrgyzstan is estimated at 186 million euros, supporting 80 active projects as of May 31.
The EBRD states that within this portfolio, the majority of funds (70 percent or 130 million euros) are dedicated to sustainable infrastructure, while 16 percent or 30 million euros are allocated for financial institutions, and the remaining 14 percent or 26 million euros are designated for industry, commerce, and agriculture.
According to the bank, cumulative EBRD investment in Kyrgyzstan totals 908 million euros for 219 projects..