BISHKEK (Reuters) – Kyrgyzstan will resume domestic flights and bus circulation between its provinces and allow charter flights from China this month to bring in staff for numerous Chinese investment projects, the Bishkek government said on Wednesday.

Kyrgyzstan will also resume domestic flights and public transit between its provinces from June 5.

Employees of Chinese companies will be tested for novel coronavirus before and after the flights, Deputy Prime Minister Erkin Asrandiyev said.

Neighbouring China is the biggest foreign investor in the Central Asian nation.

“Many projects are in stagnation now and their resumption is very important for us,” he told a government meeting.

“It is in our interest that (Chinese) specialists return to our country and continue their work.”

One project suspended when Kyrgyzstan closed its borders in March is the construction of a new road connecting the country’s northern and southern parts separated by a mountain range.

The former Soviet republic has confirmed 1,871 COVID-19 cases with 20 deaths.