Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan Sarvar Khamidov and ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeny Zhukov signed a memorandum of understanding on the implementation of a US$352.2 million project to improve the reliability and quality of energy supply services in the country, according to Repost.

The signing took place within the framework of the 56th annual meeting of the ADB in Incheon with the participation of ADB President Masatsugi Asakawa and Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, ADB Governor from Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev.

The project is designed to help Uzbekistan restore and digitalize important distribution substations, as well as strengthen the activities of the state-owned distribution company.

The main objective is to improve the reliability and quality of energy services, as well as to promote the transition to clean energy by reducing losses in the distribution system and greenhouse gas emissions. The implementation of the project will also facilitate the participation of women in energy enterprises.

To finance the project, the government of Uzbekistan has requested a US$200 million loan from ADB capital resources. Another US$75 million will be provided by the French development agency AFD.