Japanese ODA Loan Signed with the Republic of Uzbekistan

Signing ceremony

1. On May 1, JICA (President: Sadako Ogata) signed a Japanese ODA loan agreement with the Republic of Uzbekistan in the capital of Tashkent for up to 27.423 billion yen for the Talimarjan Thermal Power Station Extension Project. This is the first Japanese ODA loan to Uzbekistan in six years since the 2004 loan of 16.359 billion yen for the Tashguzar-Kumkurgan New Railway Construction Project.

2. Under the Talimarjan Thermal Power Station Extension Project, the number of combined cycle power plants will be increased in the southern Uzbekistan town of Talimarjan, alleviating the power shortage in the country and supporting sustained economic growth while enhancing the potential to expand the range of power supply to neighboring nations. The combined cycle power plant is gaining recognition for its environmentally friendly characteristics, including higher power production efficiency than conventional plants, lower consumption of natural gas for fuel and fewer carbon dioxide emissions.

Talimarjan Thermal Power Station

3. This project is co-financed with a Japanese ODA loan and funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and is the first ACFA (accelerated co-financing scheme with ADB)[1]to be implemented in Central Asia.

4. Uzbekistan has the largest population of any nation in the Central Asia region, and since the days when it was a part of the Soviet Union, it has played a central role in the region in diverse sectors. Uzbekistan also shares a border with Afghanistan, in addition to all the Central Asian countries, making it a geopolitically important country; its socioeconomic stability and economy are thus key to the stability of the region as a whole.

5. The nation has modernized existing power plants to use energy more efficiently and provide a stable power supply. It has also prioritized the development of new power plants utilizing the deposits of natural gas. In a presidential resolution in March 2009, this project was also given a priority among national projects in the power sector for implementation between 2010 and 2014. JICA’s policy is to support the energy sector through technical cooperation and other measures.

• (Reference)
• [1] Under this scheme, faster and more extensive Japanese ODA loan support is made possible by strengthening partnership with the ADB and using its knowledge for projects in nations where Japan has little experience providing support.