Construction of four new fire-fighting stations starts in Cholpon-Ata

Bishkek, April 5, 2021 / Kabar /. A solemn ceremony was held on Sunday to mark the start of construction of the first of four fire and rescue stations within the framework of cooperation between the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Korean International Cooperation Agency, the Government of the Republic of Korea and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Speaker of National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Director of KOICA, UNDP Resident Representative, Vice Speaker of Jogorku Kenesh, State-Secretary of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and Elchibek Dzhantaev, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Government in the Issyk-Kul region attended the ceremony in Cholpon-Ata. In cooperation with Korean experts, UNDP will build four new fire and rescue stations in the cities of Cholpon-Ata, Osh, Bishkek, and Suzak (Jalal-Abad oblast), as well as to provide modern fire-fighting equipment machinery and improve the quality of fire-fighting services. Working conditions of firefighters will also be improved, based on gender equality, universal access to fire servicesand principles of sustainable development. During the ceremony, the Honorable Speaker Mr. Park Byeong-Seug noted that natural disasters are increasingly prevalent around the world, and disaster risk reduction has become an important task for every country. “It is with great pleasure that the Korean government is assisting the Kyrgyz government’s efforts in strengthening its national disaster management capacity. In the next five years, the Korean government plans to expand the scope and range of our development efforts in Kyrgyzstan by appointing Kyrgyzstan as a priority country of Korea’s ODA. We hope that the cooperation between the two countries will contribute to the development of the economy and society of Kyrgyzstan and improve the Kyrgyz people’s quality of life.” At the the ceremony Mr. Sydygaliev, Vice Speaker of Kyrgyz Parliament emphasized: “Today we are witnessing the beginning of the implementation of astrategic project that will significantly increase the level of safety of the Kyrgyz population from fires and other disasters. This time capsule on the construction site of the new building of the fire and rescue department in Cholpon-Ata is a symbol of Kyrgyz-Korean friendship”. “Disasters undermine sustainable development, and fire is a preventable risk. Enhanced partnership with the Government of Korea allows us to offer Kyrgyzstan a coherent approach to reducethe risk of fire accidents and addressing the climate emergency,” said Ms. Louise Chamberlain, UNDP Resident Representative. UNDP will modernizefire protection facilities and equipment in order toreduce human casualties and physical damage caused by fires, as well as strengthen fire-fighting capacity to protect the vulnerable population, especially women and children. State Secretary of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic Azamat Mambetov said at the ceremony: “With the support of our partners KOICA and UNDP, we have achieved significant results in increasing the technical and human capacity of the Ministry. The implementation of the current project, which provides for the construction of fire and rescue units, the supply of firefighting equipment and equipment, is very important and timely for us, since, unfortunately, the number of fires increases every year and during the heating season the number of calls for fires can reach twenty per day. We are deeply convinced that the improvement of fire departments will serve as a good help for a prompt response to fires, and most importantly, will reduce the number of deaths in fires”.