An aerial drone photo taken on May 15, 2026 shows a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Launched in December 2025, a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant, which generates electricity from solid waste recycling, has been injecting new impetus into Kyrgyzstan’s green transition.
Designed with a waste-processing capacity of 3,000 tonnes per day, the project now operates at 1,000 tonnes per day, generating approximately 146 million kWh of electricity annually and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 100,000 tonnes per year.
Speaking at the launch ceremony of the project, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said the factory would help solve waste processing issues while generating electricity and creating jobs. He added that the project would significantly improve the environmental conditions in Bishkek and contribute to the electricity supply for the population.
A drone photo taken on May 15, 2026 shows a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.A waste pile is seen near a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 16, 2026.This photo taken on May 15, 2026 shows a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.A garbage truck passes over the weighbridge at a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 15, 2026.A garbage truck passes over the weighbridge at a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 15, 2026.A truck prepares to dump garbage into a pit at a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 15, 2026.A truck dumps garbage into a pit at a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 15, 2026.A truck dumps garbage into a pit at a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 15, 2026.Staff members monitor the operation of a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 15, 2026.A staff member works at a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 15, 2026.This photo taken on May 15, 2026 shows burning waste inside the incinerator at a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.A staff member checks an incinerator at a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 15, 2026.Staff members inspect devices at a workshop of a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 15, 2026.A data screen is pictured at a Chinese-funded waste-to-energy plant in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, May 15, 2026.
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance,
a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went
back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016,
working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
