BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, April 11. Rosatom, a Russian state atomic energy corporation, plans to complete the reclamation of a former uranium site in the village of Ming-Kush, located in the Jumgal district of Kyrgyzstan’s Naryn region, by August 2025, Trend reports.
This announcement was made during a meeting between Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Emergency Situations, Boobek Azhikeev, and Rosatom’s Deputy Director General, Nikolay Spassky.
Upon completion of the project, a memorial stele is expected to be unveiled in Ming-Kush to commemorate the history of the mining industry and the strategic cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
The parties also discussed the implementation stages of the broader agreement on the rehabilitation of uranium legacy sites in five other settlements: Kajy-Sai, Kyzyl-Jar, Kara-Tash, Sumsar, and Kan.
On March 26, 2024, in Sochi, the Government of Russia and the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan signed a cooperation agreement aimed at rehabilitating territories in Kyrgyzstan affected by former uranium extraction and mining activities.
Under the agreement, the work will be exempt from taxes and other charges within Kyrgyzstan. It also includes provisions to ensure the safety of local populations living near former uranium and mining waste sites, as well as to reduce the risk of emergencies at these locations.
Prior to this, Rosatom has been involved in rehabilitation projects in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan under the 2012 Interstate Target Program “Reclamation of Territories Affected by Uranium Mining.”
During the Soviet era, uranium was mined in Kyrgyzstan. Following the collapse of the USSR, many of the waste storage facilities in the country fell into disrepair, posing serious environmental risks.
