Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Oct. 5 /Trend D.Azizov/
Uzbekenergo State Joint Stock Company (SJSC), which unities power industry enterprises of Uzbekistan, intends to issue corporate bonds worth up to 200 billion soums (about $93 million at the current exchange rate of Uzbekistan's Central Bank) till late 2013, the company's representative told Trend.
According to him, the planned issuance of securities is intended to be placed in country's domestic stock market, among legal entities-residents of the country.
The issuance planned by Uzbekenergo will be the largest bond issue, carried out by the companies in the corporate bond market of Uzbekistan, the agency's interlocutor said.
According to Uzbekenrgo, the funds raised from the bond placement will be used to finance a number of investment projects carried out by the company.
In particular, the funds from the bond placement will be spent for the reconstruction of the Syrdarya thermal power plant, as well as the modernization of energy infrastructure in the central and southern parts of Uzbekistan.
The Syrdarya thermal power plant was put into operation in 1981. The annual electricity output hits 13 billion kilowatt / hours or 32 percent of total electricity volume generated in Uzbekistan.
The project worth $60 million on modernization of the Syrdarya thermal power plant with a capacity of 3,000 megawatts (10 power generating units of 300 MW) envisages full-scale reconstruction of two power generating units (third and fourth). It is planned to increase the capacity by 50 MW. The project will be financed on a parity basis through the Reconstruction and Development Fund's loan and Uzbekenergo's own funds.
It was previously reported that according to the program, it is planned to implement 44 investment projects worth $5.273 billion in 2011-2015.
Uzbekenergo company was established in 2001 on the basis of the Uzbek Power Industry and Electrification Ministry. It is the governing body in the electric power and coal industry. Uzbekenrgo includes more than 50 companies. More than 98 percent of the electricity in Uzbekistan is generated in power plants belonging to the company.
Currently, there are 45 power stations with a total capacity of about 12,400 megawatts in the country, including 16 power stations of Uzbekenergo with a total capacity of 12,040 megawatts.
The official exchange rate is 2.152.51 soums/$1.