IFC praises Uzbekistan’s progress and expects investment to flow
Tashkent – 03 March 2020 – The Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan is pleased to announce that a conference for global investors was successfully held in Tashkent, where attendees heard details of the latest public-private partnership (PPP) project in Uzbekistan’s electricity industry.
The proposed PPP is for the construction of a combined cycle gas plant (CCGT) with a capacity of 1500 MW in the Sirdarya region of the country. It is the sixth PPP project in Uzbekistan’s energy sector in the last year.
Ongoing PPPs in the energy sector include the design, financing, construction and operation of a 200 MW solar photovoltaic plant in Samarkand region, 200 MW in Jizzakh and 200 MW in Sherabad with ADB.
Today’s PPP news represents further momentum in Uzbekistan’s ongoing energy reforms to update infrastructure, ensure energy security for business/consumers and proactively attract investment to the sector.
Delegates received further information about the energy sector of Uzbekistan, the legal framework for PPPs, the scope of the CCGT PPP project and contract details for its construction and development, which is currently subject to tender.
Delegates included investors from major international companies, such as Sumitomo, Mitsui, Engie, EDF, Kepco, AcwaPower, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Marubeni, and other interested parties from countries worldwide including Turkey, China, Korea, Japan, Italy, France, UAE, Kuwait, Spain, Russia, India and Germany who showed interest in participating in PPP projects.
The conference was organised by the Ministry of Energy, with the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade, the PPP Development Agency under the Ministry of Finance together with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group.
The IFC is advising Uzbekistan on the structure and procedure for the tender, which will be a two-part competitive process to select a private partner for a long-term agreement with Uzbekistan’s government on financing, design, construction, operation, maintenance and transfer of the plant.
Deputy Director of the Project Office of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Bahrom Umarbekov, said:
“We were pleased to videohost such a distinguished group of guests at our Investment Conference in Tashkent, all of whom recognise the steps we are taking to reform our energy sector and demonstrated by their attendance their continued interest in joining us on this journey. The successful implementation of this public-private partnership will increase the stability of electricity supplies and further ensure the efficient use of natural gas.”
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