Kyrgyzstan President Details Kumtor Gold Mine Fund Spending

Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov has outlined how profits generated from the Kumtor gold mine are being invested back into the nation's development. In an interview, Japarov addressed public questions about the utilization of funds, emphasizing that the revenue directly supports critical infrastructure and social programs.

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Kumtor has become ours, but own spoon hasn’t become golden.

Japarov explained that after covering the substantial costs of mine maintenance, which can account for half of the annual gold revenue, the remaining profit is channeled into state initiatives. He cited the construction of houses through the State Mortgage Company, the building of numerous schools and kindergartens, and extensive road repair projects as key areas of investment.

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If $1 billion worth of gold is mined at Kumtor annually, half of that goes toward mine maintenance. Gold isn’t mined for free. So, only half of that money is net profit. The other half, sometimes more, sometimes less, goes toward mine development, salaries, taxes, spare parts, diesel fuel, and so on. The rest is net profit, and it goes directly to the state.

"If $1 billion worth of gold is mined at Kumtor annually, half of that goes toward mine maintenance," Japarov stated. "The rest is net profit, and it goes directly to the state." He pointed to the rapid pace of development, noting that "we built 500 schools and kindergartens in 5 years," a stark contrast to previous periods.

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The State Mortgage Company builds houses for $3 billion. Where does this money come from? If they built 100 schools in 30 years, then we built 500 schools and kindergartens in 5 years. Do you see this or not? Who has financed this? It’s Kumtor’s money.

The president also highlighted improvements in social welfare, mentioning the significant increase in the minimum pension from 700 soms to 7,000 soms, with plans for further increases. "This is all money from Kumtor," he asserted, underscoring the mine's crucial role in the country's economic progress and the tangible benefits reaching citizens.

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Last year we built 1,500 kilometers of roads, and this year we want to increase that to 2,000. The maximum we had built before was 250 kilometers of roads in the summer, that was during Bakiyev’s time. And we’ve built two thousand kilometers.