Uzbekistan, Tashkent, August 31 /Trend D.Azizov/
State Joint-Stock Company (SJSC) "Uzbekenrgo" started construction of Turakurgan Thermal Power Plant (TPP) in Namangan region (eastern Uzbekistan) with the capacity of 900 megawatts, Uzbekenergo representative told Trend on Friday.
The construction of the new TPP is undertaken in order to ensure uninterrupted power supply to consumers of three regions of Uzbekistan, located in the Fergana Valley - Andijan, Namangan and Ferghana.
The project, previously estimated at around $1 billion, envisages construction of TPP with two units of combined cycle plants of 450 megawatts each, and the production of up to 7 billion kilowatt / hour of electricity per year. The first unit is to be commissioned in 2016, the second - in 2017.
According to the source, currently preparatory and construction works started at the construction site of TPP, at the same time there is a preparation of tender documents. Tender for the supply of process equipment will be announced in the first half of 2014.
The financing of the project is to be carried out by loans taken from international financial institutions and totaling about $600 million, loan from Uzbekistan's Fund for Reconstruction and Development worth $350 million and Uzbekenergo's own funds.
The current supply of electricity in the region is carried out from the central part of Uzbekistan through the power line Novo-Angren TPP - Uzbekistanskaya SS with a capacity of 500 kilovolts. Prior to the launch of the power lines in 2008 Fergana Valley was almost completely supplied with electricity from Kyrgyz energy system.
45 power plants with total capacity of more than 12,400 megawatts operate in the power of Uzbekistan, including 16 power plants, which are part of "Uzbekenergo" with a total capacity of 12,040 megawatts.
In 2012, electricity production in Uzbekistan increased by 0.2 percent compared to 2011 - up to 52.534 billion kV / h.