Wedoany.com Report-Nov 7, Organization of Turkic States (OTS) members are welcome to take part in the construction of the Kambarata-1 hydropower plant, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said at the OTS summit in Bishkek.

Kyrgyzstan is building the plant in conjunction with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Japarov said the region was facing climate change and a decrease in the area of glaciers, which has shrunk 16% over the past seven years.

The energy ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan signed an agreement in June on preparations to build the Kambarata HPP-1. The project will be carried out by a jointly owned company. The main sources of financing for the project are the founders' own funds, as well as loans and grants from international financial institutions and commercial banks.

Kambarata HHP-1 will have capacity of 1,860 MW, generating 5 billion kWh of electricity annually. The dam is expected to reach 256 meters in height, holding over 5 billion cubic meters of water. Kyrgyzstan plans to launch the first unit in eight years.

The estimated total cost for completion is $4.5 billion, with $1 billion already secured, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov said in February. Construction should begin in 2025.

Kambarata HHP-1 will be one of three hydropower plants on the Naryn-Syrdarya cascade planned back in Soviet times. The first 120 MW Kambarata HPP-2 turbine went into service in 2010, and preparations are underway to build its second turbine.