📋 Tender Overview
Project Name
Climate Change- and Disaster-Resilient Water Resources Sector Project - Additional Financing
Project Number
51081-003
Country / Economy
Kyrgyz Republic
Project Status
Proposed
Project Type / Modality of Assistance
Grant
Loan
Source of Funding / Amount
Grant: Climate Change- and Disaster-Resilient Water Resources Sector Project (Additional Financing)
Asian Development Fund US$ 27.00 million
Loan: Climate Change- and Disaster-Resilient Water Resources Sector Project (Additional Financing)
Concessional ordinary capital resources lending US$ 20.00 million
Sector / Subsector
Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Agricultural production - Rural flood protection - Water-based natural resources management
Gender
Effective gender mainstreaming
Description
(i) modernizing irrigation infrastructure, (ii) integrating automation systems, (iii) adopting advanced water management technologies, (iv) introducing nature-based solutions and watershed management planning, (v) enhancing early warning system and precipitation monitoring, and (vi) strengthening institutional capacity for sustainable operations.
Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy
The Kyrgyz Republic faces significant challenges due to fluctuating water availability intensified by climate change. In 2023, unusually high summer temperatures caused wheat harvests to drop by 26.5% compared to the previous year. The ongoing climate crisis is predicted to worsen with projections indicating that the country will face accelerated glacier melt through 2030s, followed by a significant decline in glacial runoff leading to increased desertification and drought. These changes pose significant risks to the country's agriculture sector. Addressing these risks require a targeted strategy to modernize and enhance climate-resilient water management infrastructure, especially in the Chui and Osh regions facing severe water shortage problems. Modernizing the outdated irrigation systems is essential for enhancing operational efficiency. These systems are inefficient, leading to up to 40% of water being lost during conveyance due to infiltration. Further, the country's irrigation networks which have not been updated since the Soviet era are in serious need of equipment to sustain efficient operation.
The Kyrgyz Republic has considerable unused water resources that could be harnessed for irrigation development. The country's mountain glaciers hold approximately 650 cubic kilometers (km3) of freshwater; and around 3,000 rivers with a total annual flow of 47 km3, of which only 20% (10 km3) is used. Further, there is potential for developing 500,000-700,000 hectares of land for irrigation. However, issues like land degradation and waterlogging largely due to insufficient maintenance of drainage systems need to be addressed. In addition, the expected increase in precipitation intensity is likely to cause more surface runoff and reduced water infiltr
