It has been authorised that funds from ‘Kumtor’ may be used for student education and staff accommodation in the Issyk-Kul Region

In Kyrgyzstan, the list of areas for which funds from the Issyk-Kul Region Development Fund – which is financed by a one per cent levy on ‘Kumtor Gold Company’ – may be spent has been expanded. The relevant decree was signed by the Prime Minister, Adylbek Kasymaliev, on 12 November.

The Fund’s money may now be used to cover students’ tuition fees and for the construction or purchase of staff accommodation.

The amendments have been made to the regulations governing the Issyk-Kul Region Development Fund, which were approved by a government decree dated 27 July 2011.

One of the new areas of funding is the payment of tuition fees for students studying on a fee-paying basis. However, such support will only be available subject to the signing of a contract stipulating an obligation to work for at least five years in the Issyk-Kul Region upon completion of their studies.

Thus, the Fund’s resources may be used not only to finance infrastructure and economic projects, but also to train specialists who are obliged to work in the region afterwards.

Furthermore, the Fund has been granted the right to finance the construction and purchase of staff houses and flats. However, the resolution does not specify the categories of employees to whom such accommodation will be provided.

The changes have also affected the funding of business projects. The Fund’s resources may be allocated to projects that contribute to the socio-economic development of the region and the generation of budget revenue. Such projects must be approved by the supervisory board. Any change to their intended purpose is also permitted only with the board’s consent.

Separately, the procedure for transferring funds received from ‘Kumtor Gold Company’ has been clarified. Under the new rules, the Central Treasury of the Ministry of Finance is obliged, within three working days of receiving the one-per-cent levies, to convert the US dollars received into KGS and transfer them to a special treasury account held by the Fund.

Thereafter, 100 per cent of the funds received must be transferred by the administrator to the Fund’s account for further use in the socio-economic development of the Issyk-Kul Region.

The amendments have been adopted in connection with adjustments to the terms of the revised investment agreement for the ‘Kumtor’ project.