The World Bank will finance the transformation of Uzbekistan electric power industry
The World Bank will provide Uzbekistan with a concessional loan for the transformation of the electric power industry.
The World Bank Board of Directors approved the project "Transformation of the Electric Power Insudtry and Sustainable Power Transmission", aimed at improving the efficiency of the "National Power Grids of Uzbekistan".
For the implementation of the project, the World Bank is providing a loan of $ 380 million, and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) - a loan of $ 43 million. The financing is provided at very low interest rates and with a maximum loan repayment period of up to 40 years, the World Bank noted. GCF will also provide a grant of $ 4 million for selected project activities.
According to experts, the demand for electricity in Uzbekistan will grow from 61 billion kWh in 2018 to more than 100 billion kWh by 2030. Today the country has over 250,000 km of transmission lines and distribution grids. Most of them were built during the Soviet period and have long depleted their operational life.
“Outdated infrastructure leads to high losses of electricity, which are estimated at about 20% of its total production. It is also the cause of frequent power outages across the country, damaging economic activity and the well-being of the population”, the press release said.
The project will help modernize outdated energy infrastructure by financing priority investment projects of the National Power Grids of Uzbekistan. It provides, in particular, the reconstruction, modernization and expansion of 22 outdated high-voltage substations, as well as the construction of a new substation for power lines in 11 regions of the country.
The project will introduce modern technologies and solutions for monitoring, control and operation of the power transmission system. These include the creation of a new software and hardware complex for dispatch control and data collection (SCADA), as well as an electricity management system (EMS) for the central and regional dispatch centers of the National Power Grids of Uzbekistan. This will replace obsolete systems that have been in use since Soviet times.
The project will also enhance the ability of the electricity grid to integrate renewable energy from the private sector. These measures will lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, and will also help attract additional private investment in the renewable energy sector, the WB stressed.
In addition, the project will contribute to the development of regional energy trade in Central Asia through the reconstruction and expansion of infrastructure connecting Uzbekistan with power systems of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.