Thursday, June 28, 2012 -
Delegates from Polish firms traveled to the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek to participate in a two-day intergovernmental government cooperation which wraps up on Thursday.
European automaker Polish Car Factory voiced its commitment Wednesday to set up a vehicle assembly plant in Kyrgyzstan.
Tadeusz Zbigniew, chairman of the Polish Car Factory, made the offer during the meeting.
“We contacted Bishkek Machine Building Plant JSC and are ready to import cars to Kyrgyzstan and other countries in the region, as well as to build a car factory with a minimum capacity of 5,000-8,000 units per year,” the Bishkek-based independent 24.kg news agency reported Zbigniew as saying.
In all, 11 Polish firms expressed solid interest in collaborating with Kyrgyz businessmen during negotiations in the Kyrgyz capital.
In one potential development at the economic forum, joint mining venture Pole-Kyrgyzstan said it is mulling a bid for a subsoil license on developing the Jerooy gold project in northwest Kyrgyzstan, the Knews.kg agency reported.
Kyrgyzstan’s hydropower and coal mining sectors are also attracting Polish investors, according to reports out of the meeting in the Kyrgyz capital.
A Polish firm told Kyrgyz authorities it is ready to immediately invest in the country’s hydropower sector, a senior Polish economy ministry official said on Thursday.
The company is currently awaiting data on Kyrgyz plans, Knews reported.
Other investors are eyeing Kyrgyzstan’s coal industry.
"Poland has a great experience [in coal mining]. We will enter negotiations on these projects once we have received accurate information,” said the official, Elzbieta Bodio, deputy director of the Department of Promotion within the ministry.
The Polish government is also ready to offer a $25 million non-commercial loan to the Kyrgyz government. The two sides are expected to shortly start talks on its conditions, a senior Polish economy ministry official revealed at the forum.