Uzbekistan to receive \$150 million loan from World Bank

The World Bank has approved a \$150 million concessional loan for Uzbekistan to support a new project aimed at developing small hydropower and improving the reliability of electricity supply across the country. This was reported by the World Bank office in Uzbekistan.

The project will be implemented with the involvement of the private sector, including local developers of small hydropower plants (SHPs) and commercial banks. The Uzbek government plans to invest in the construction of around 3,000 SHPs, aiming to increase their total installed capacity to 160 megawatts (MW) by 2026. This expansion is expected to provide additional electricity to 280,000 people.

“A new project financed by the World Bank and implemented by the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan between 2025 and 2030 will help achieve this goal,” the report stated.

The project will support the construction of SHPs with a total installed capacity of up to 150 MW by 2030. These plants are expected to generate over 520 gigawatt-hours of clean electricity annually. Additionally, the project is projected to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 430,000 tons per year.

As part of the project, approximately 270 suitable sites for SHP construction have already been identified, mainly located on existing irrigation canals across various regions of Uzbekistan. Most of these sites (93%) have a capacity ranging from 100 to 1,000 kilowatts (kW).

The electricity generated by these SHPs will be purchased by Regional Electric Networks JSC. This renewable energy will become a reliable source for diversifying the national energy mix and improving the electricity supply to households and the private sector, particularly in energy-poor and rural areas.

It should be recalled that earlier, it was reported that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) would provide a sovereign loan of up to \$250 million to modernize 110 irrigation pumping stations across Uzbekistan.