Russia loses influence in Central Asia's energy market due to new regional integration
With the support of the World Bank, Central Asian countries are launching the REMIT project to create a single energy space, which is expected to reformat the regional electricity market. This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine. The programme is designed to last 10 years and involves combining the hydropower capacities of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan with the thermal generation of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as solar and wind power plants, based on the principle of energy synergy.
The total cost of the system exceeds $1 billion. Of this amount, $143 million has already been financed. It is expected that integration will allow countries in the region to more effectively balance seasonal fluctuations in electricity production and reduce energy import costs.
Until recently, Russia remained one of the key players in the Central Asian energy market and promoted the idea of creating a joint energy centre within the Eurasian Economic Union. However, the war against Ukraine, international sanctions and the lack of modern technologies in Russia and Belarus have effectively derailed these plans. The launch of work, previously planned for 2025, has been postponed until at least 2027.
Arzybek Kozhoshev, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the Eurasian Economic Commission, acknowledges that even 2030 may remain only a target date for the launch of the Russian-Eurasian project. Its prospects remain uncertain due to the lack of a fully-fledged gas market in Russia and significant differences in regulatory approaches between the participating countries.
Against this backdrop, REMIT appears to be a more pragmatic and institutionally secure initiative. According to World Bank estimates, the cumulative economic effect of the project's implementation by 2050 could reach $15 billion, making it one of the largest infrastructure developments in Central Asia in recent decades.
