Securing Power Supply in Uzbekistan's Fergana Valley
The $288 million Namangan 500-Kilovolt (kV) Power Transmission Project will enhance reliability of the power supply to Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley. New high-voltage transmission lines will be constructed under the project to expand and modernize the country’s transmission grid. Improved transmission will result in power supply reliability in the provinces of Namangan, Fergana, and Andijon; reduced transmission losses; and better operational efficiency of the power sector.
A government priority project, the power transmission project includes construction of
- 175 kilometers (km) of 500 kV overhead, single-circuit transmission line from Novo Angren thermal power plant to Namangan substation;
- about 32 km of 220 kV overhead single-circuit transmission lines from Kuzal-Ravat-Sardor and Sardor-Crystal to Namangan substation; and
- a 500/220 kV Namangan substation and reconstruction of the 500 kV outdoor switchgear at the Novo Angren thermal power plant.
The project will also improve transmission system planning and transmission asset management, and produce a feasibility study for the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system.
The Asian Development Bank approved a $150 million loan to finance the project in October 2012, of which $132 million will be sourced from the Asian Development Fund, and $18 million from its ordinary capital resources. The project’s executing agency state energy company Uzbekenergo will contribute $83 million, together with counterpart financing of $55 million from the Government of Uzbekistan.
According to the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program’s Power Sector Regional Master Plan, the Namangan project is a least-cost solution to bring additional power to Fergana Valley. The region does not have hydro or fossil-fuel reserves for new local generation and no additional power import is available from the Kyrgyz Republic. Given this, the Regional Master Plan proposes adding transmission capacity under the Namangan Project as one solution to enhance power reliability from Uzbekistan’s central grid.