The hokim (head) of the Fergana region in Uzbekistan has reportedly reached a preliminary agreement with the Chinese company Sinomach to construct a water pipeline from the Andijan reservoir to the regional capital, Fergana. The project aims to address the issue of a shortage of drinking water in the region, as the water supply in 2022 was only 72.4%, which is lower than the 74% access rate in 2017, Nova24.uz reports.
Currently, the primary source of water in the region is underground deposits. However, in the Fergana Valley, wells are unevenly distributed, and the quality of water in some sources has decreased due to intensive land development. Another problem is the depletion of groundwater levels. In September 2023, Tashkent imposed a moratorium on drilling wells in 23 districts of Uzbekistan to slow down the decline in underground water levels.
Bishkek does not object to the Uzbekistan project, as every action related to the management of the Kamchi-Abad (Andijan) reservoir is coordinated between the parties. Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov made this statement, emphasizing that the management of the reservoir has been characterized as having equal rights since the agreements reached in 2022.
The Fergana Valley consists of three regions and is the most densely populated region of Uzbekistan. More than 10 million people live here and need to be provided with drinking and irrigation water.
CentralasianLIGHT.org,
October 2, 2023