During a press conference, Mayor Aybek Junushaliev announced that the decision to expand Ataturk Park by reclaiming 43 hectares of land for park use was made in coordination with the country's president. The resolution, signed by Junushaliev, approves the park's boundaries as established in a 1992 decree by the Bishkek City Administration.
The directive instructs relevant departments to take action to return the designated construction land back to the park and dismantle any illegally erected structures within the park's boundaries. Notably, Deputy of the Jogorku Kenesh, Dastan Bekeshev, assured that residential buildings within the park area will not be demolished.
Ataturk Park, originally established as a dendrological park of the Botanical Garden of the Kyrgyz SSR Academy of Sciences in 1957-1958, has undergone various transformations over the years. It was transferred to the city executive committee in 1962 and renamed the Park of Culture and Recreation "Friendship" in 1967 before acquiring its current name in 1995. In the 1990s, parts of the park were gradually developed for residential purposes, with the peak of construction scandals occurring in the 2000s, involving the sale of land for private housing to high-ranking officials or their relatives in Kyrgyzstan.
