Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Oct. 24 /. Trend corr. D.Azizov /
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) board of directors has approved a loan to the government of Uzbekistan to the sum $150 million for the modernisation of the energy supply to the Fergana Valley in the east of the country, a statement posted on the bank's website stated on Wednesday.
The funds will be allocated out of the ordinary resources of the bank to the sum of $18 million and the Asian Development Fund $132 million. The loan agreement will be signed by the end of the year.
The project worth 288 million dollars includes the construction of a 500kV Namangan substation with two 501 MVA autotransformers, as well as a high voltage (HV) Novo-Angren thermal power station 500 kV and a Namangan with a length of 175 km with a frame of two single-circuit 220 kV and 32 kilometres long lines in 2013-2015.
Uzbekistan will contribute $138 million to the project. Its implementation will provide a reliable power supply to the Fergana Valley, including the three areas of Andijan, Namangan and Ferghana.
As previously reported, in late in 2008 Uzbekenergo commissioned the 500 kV line, 169 miles long Novo-Angren Uzbekistan thermal power station.
The project cost of $171.6 million enabled an uninterrupted supply of electricity to customers in the Fergana Valley - Andijan, Namangan and Ferghana regions at an annual volume of about 7.5 billion kWh.
Prior to this project these three areas of Uzbekistan located in the Fergana Valley, were almost completely supplied with electricity from the Kyrgyz energy system.
The project on modernisation of power supply in the Fergana valley is the third such project in the electric power sector of Uzbekistan, implemented with the assistance of ADB.
Uzbekistan joined the ADB in 1995. Within this period the bank approved loans to 35 joint projects on education and health care, modernisation of generating capacity and energy infrastructure, rail and road infrastructure, public utilities, agriculture and the financial sector with a total project cost of more than $8.6 billion with the share of ADB financing being more than $3.8 billion.