Naryn Free Economic Zone Gets 200-Hectare Park Deal, but Power Supply Is Still Unclear

FTZ News: Kyrgyzstan’s National Investment Agency signed an agreement Nov. 7 with StarOcean Investment to build and operate a 200-hectare industrial park inside the Naryn Free Economic Zone. The park is meant for energy-intensive, low-carbon manufacturing, data centers and computing capacity for artificial intelligence. One data center is planned to hold government data and support digital public services.

The agency says the project could also help develop an IT park at the site. Kyrgyz AI developers have said limited access to computing power is one of the main obstacles to training large models. In a June interview, AIRUN CEO Chingiz Arziev called it one of the main challenges. The planned facilities are intended to address that gap.

Work is already underway on power infrastructure in the Naryn region. Construction of a 110/35/10 kV substation at Kur-Terek began in 2025 to serve the industrial park and other new facilities, including residential complexes and the reconstructed Naryn airport. The substation is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2026. It is being built by the national electric grid company with its own funds. A temporary 400 kVA transformer substation has already been installed at the site.

The open question is whether the Naryn Free Economic Zone can actually host a park of this size and type. StarOcean has said it will pay for the power lines, substations and other infrastructure needed to connect the park to the grid. The National Investment Agency says the project could ease the country’s electricity shortfall and boost export potential. The agency’s reference to cross-border energy infrastructure leaves open the possibility that the project could rely on electricity imports, but it has not identified any source of supply. The agency has not said where the park’s electricity would come from or how much it would need.

The government expects Kyrgyzstan to import 4.1 billion kilowatt-hours in 2026, about one-fifth of projected demand. Energy Minister Altynbek Rysbekov has warned that imports could be limited during peak morning and evening hours this winter, when demand also rises in the countries that supply the power. In September, Energy Ministry officials met with StarOcean representatives to discuss electricity supply for the park. The sides agreed to work together on the technical and legal details of connecting the site to the grid.

The cost of the project, the construction timeline and the planned data center capacity have not been disclosed. Without those figures, it is difficult to judge whether the Naryn Free Economic Zone has the power infrastructure to support the park or what effect the project would have on a grid that is already under strain. The Cabinet of Ministers approved the project on Nov. 6. The same day it amended the operating rules for five free economic zones, including Naryn./.