GrCF3 W1 - Bishkek District Heating

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Overview

The provision of a sovereign loan of up to EUR 10.1 million to the Kyrgyz Republic in two tranches (both to be committed at signing) of up to EUR 5.9 million and EUR 4.2 million (the "EBRD Loan"). The funds to be on-lent to the Bishkek city (the "City") for the benefit of Bishkekteploenergo (BTE), a municipal district heating company wholly owned by the City administration to modernize the district heating (DH) infrastructure in Bishkek (the "Project").

The Project will be co-financed by a concessional loan of up to EUR 5.9 million from the Green Climate Fund (the "GCF Loan") under the GCF Green Cities Facility, as well as by an investment grant of up to EUR 4.2 million from an international donor or the EBRD's Shareholder Special Fund (SSF).

The EBRD Loan and the GCF Loan will have a tenor of 18 years, including a 4-year grace period under the EBRD Loan and a 6-year grace period under the GCF Loan. Tranche I EBRD Loan and GCF Loan will be disbursed pro-rata.

Project ID 56980

Status Approved

Location

Kyrgyz Republic

Business Sector

Municipal Infrastructure

Notice Type

State

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Company Contact Information

Ulan Aytiev, Director
kpbte@mail.ru
+996 (312) 491310
74 Gagarin street, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic

Project ID 56980

Status Approved

Location

Kyrgyz Republic

Business Sector

Municipal Infrastructure

Notice Type

State

Environmental Category

Approval Date

02 Dec 2025

Disclosure date

08 Oct 2025

As per section 1.4.2 (iii) of the Directive on Access to Information: "For Projects approved by Bank management where the Board of Directors has delegated the approval authority, the PSD shall be disclosed at the start of the relevant no-objection notification period to a member country of the Bank in accordance with Article 13 (iii) of the Agreement Establishing the EBRD."

Project Description

Project Objectives

The Project aims to tackle environmental challenges related to Bishkek's worn-out and outdated district energy infrastructure. This is a follow-on investment under the EBRD Green Cities Programme, directly supporting the implementation of energy sector priority actions in the Green City Action Plan (GCAP). Strengthening this critical service will support sustainable urban expansion, enhance living conditions for residents, allow the integration of renewable and waste heat-based heat sources, and align Bishkek with regional and global commitments to sustainable growth.

Transition Impact

ETI score: 70

Primary: Green transition impact (TI) stems from the Project's environmental benefits such as lower energy consumption, reduced heat losses, decreased water consumption in a water-scarce context and enhanced environmental standards, resulting in around 23 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the Project will introduce innovative centralised heat pump technologies and thermal energy storage to the district heating system to reduce air pollution in Bishkek.

Secondary: The Project will also promote Inclusive TI by addressing a critical institutional gap in gender equality within Bishkek's district heating sector by supporting the implementation of a company-level Equal Opportunity Action Plan (EOAP), capacity building for the City administration on mainstreaming gender in climate policy and launch of a city-wide awareness campaign to promote energy-efficient behaviour among residents.

Client Information

KYRGYZ REPUBLIC SOVEREIGN

Borrower: the Kyrgyz Republic, represented by the Ministry of Finance.

Project entity: Municipal Enterprise Bishkekteploenergo (BTE), the district heating operator, supplying heat to nearly 22 thousand customers in the north-western and south-western parts of Bishkek.

EBRD Finance Summary

EUR 10,100,000.00

Total Project Cost

EUR 20,200,000.00

Additionality

The Bank's additionality stems from the following components:

Financing structure: The Bank will provide long-term financing, which is presently not available from local commercial banks.
Standard-setting: The Project will follow EBRD Procurement Policy and Rules (PP&Rs) for public clients. BTE will also pursue higher inclusion standards by implementing the EOAP.
Knowledge, innovation, and capacity building: The Project envisages TC funded consultancy support that includes training to the BTE's staff.

Environmental and Social Summary

Categorised B (2019 ESP). The Project is expected to result in significant environmental and social benefits associated with the overall improvement in the quality, reliability and energy efficiency of heating and hot water services in Bishkek. It will also result in a reduction in emissions and water losses, as well as an overall enhanced resilience of the district heating system through modernization of the current facilities owned by BTE. The investment proceeds will finance modernization of the City's district heating infrastructure and support the implementation of the Bishkek GCAP by modernizing boiler houses including small-scale solar PV installations and renewable or electrified heat sources, rehabilitating DH networks, installing SCADA, small-scale CHP units and boilers for backup, individual heating substations, as well as procuring specialized vehicles.

The environmental and social due diligence (ESDD) has been carried out by an independent consultant as part of the Feasibility Study. It involved a corporate environmental and social (E&S) audit of the BTE's E&S management system, its current operations, and an E&S assessment of the investment components. The Project will contribute to overall decarbonization plans for BTE and support phasing out coal-based heat generation in Bishkek.

BTE has a limited E&S capacity, and its corporate E&S Management Systems need to be further developed in line with good international practice and align with ISO 14001 for environmental management and ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety. The current operations meet the national requirements. BTE will conduct local Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for the Project's components, as required, and obtain the environmental and construction permits prior to proceeding with the works. BTE needs to further enhance its HR management and policies to also cover labour and working conditions, gender equality, include gender-based violence and harassment provisions and employee grievance mechanism.

Contractor management also requires further improvement and E&S provisions will be included in the tender documents. Construction E&S Management Plans will need to be prepared and implemented by the contractors to carefully manage and minimize any disruptions to supply of heat and hot water to the community, manage any temporary access restrictions and protect worker and community health and safety during construction works. A traffic management plan will need to be put in place for the construction and operation phases. All drivers will be encouraged to complete online training through the Occupational Road Risk Toolkit to improve road safety awareness and reduce driving-related risks. Procedures for safe removal and disposal of any asbestos-containing materials in the corrugated roofing panels, old pipes and boilers will be developed and implemented before and during construction, as well as a comprehensive waste management plan to ensure safe disposal of the construction waste, including any hazardous waste. A small distributed solar PV component (under 5MW capacity) will need to be managed in line with the Bank's Management Approach to its solar supply chain and address supply chain risks through procurement. The maintenance vehicles are expected to be of Euro 4 or 5 emission standard.

The Project is not associated with any additional land acquisition and will not cause any resettlement or displacement, as confirmed by the results of ESDD. Temporary construction impacts will be managed through the implementation of good construction practice and the Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP). The Project will be implemented in the urban setting hence will not impact any sensitive areas or protected sites.

BTE will be required to further enhance its stakeholder engagement, including a grievance mechanism. A Stakeholder Engagement Plan and a Non-Technical Summary have been developed for the project and will be disclosed by BTE locally.

A comprehensive ESAP has been prepared for BTE to structure the Project in line with EBRD Performance Requirements. The ESAP will be agreed with the BTE prior to signing. A post-signing Project Implementation Support consultant will support the City and BTE to implement the ESAP. The Bank will monitor the Project through a review of Annual Environmental and Social Reports and site visits, if necessary.

Green assessments

The Project is determined aligned with the mitigation and adaptation goals of the Paris Agreement based on the application of the EBRD's Paris alignment approach for directly financed investments. The Project is aligned with the mitigation goals of the Paris Agreement through the joint-MDB Paris-aligned list category "District heating or cooling systems with negligible lifecycle GHG emissions" and the sectoral guidance for district heating and cooling projects, as set out in EBRD's Paris Agreement alignment methodology. Material physical climate risks were identified and addressed through the ESAP and project design. The Project does not conflict with national adaptation policies or the climate resilience of the wider system, confirming its alignment with the adaptation goals of the Paris Agreement. 72 per cent of the EBRD financing is classified as green finance, as it supports activities to achieve climate mitigation and adaptation objectives with attribution made in line with the EBRD methodology for determining green finance attribution.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Pre-signing:

TC1: Feasibility Study to conduct a technical, economic, environmental and social due diligence.

Post-signing:

TC2: Project Implementation Support to assist with: (i) establishing and training of the Project Implementation Unit, (ii) environmental and social monitoring and reporting, and (iii) procurement and technical supervision.
TC3: Promoting equal opportunities and gender-responsive climate policy to prepare the EOAP, deliver capacity-building for municipal staff on mainstreaming gender in climate policy and launch a city-wide awareness campaign to promote energy-efficient behaviour among residents.

Company Contact Information

Ulan Aytiev, Director
kpbte@mail.ru
+996 (312) 491310
74 Gagarin street, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic

PSD Last Updated

11 Feb 2026

Understanding transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with the EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and its associated Environmental and Social Requirements (ESRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the ESRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation, and to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about the environmental and social (E&S) performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD also requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts of projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and compliance

The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all of the Bank's activities in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The EBRD believes that identifying and resolving issues in the project assessment and approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts andhelps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is further responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, either within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. OCCO will follow-up all matters reported. It will review all matters reported. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (for example, through the client’s project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the mechanism is: to support dialogue between project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or the project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate and how to submit a Request for review. Alternatively, contact IPAM by email at ipam@ebrd.com for guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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GrCF3 W1 - Bishkek District Heating

Overview

Project timeline

Company Contact Information

Project Description

Project Objectives

Transition Impact

Client Information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total Project Cost

Additionality

Green assessments

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

PSD Last Updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)