Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A meeting was held at the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade with a delegation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) headed by EBRD First Vice President Jürgen Rigterink.

Within the meeting,a loan and project agreement for the construction project of a new power transmission line, which is part of the system of JSC "National Electric Networks of Uzbekistan" (NESU) was signed.

During the event, it was noted that in recent years Uzbekistan has significantly expanded investment cooperation with a number of international financial institutions, among which one of the leading places is occupied by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). To date, the EBRD has invested over €3.6 billion in 113 projects in Uzbekistan.

It was announced that this financial support by the Bank to National Electric Grids of Uzbekistan in the amount of US$47.1 million to finance a project to build a new power transmission line between the villages of Sarimay and Jankeldy in Khorezm and Bukhara regions is aimed at increasing the throughput and improving the reliability of national electrical networks of the country. The new line will link two wind farms under development with a total installed capacity of up to 1 GW to the national grid. The project is supported by the Early Transition Countries Fund and the Shareholders’ Special Fund.

This grid expansion will further integrate renewable energy into Uzbekistan’s power grid, which will also help balance the load on existing transmission lines and address power outages in the north and southwest of the country. The project will improve the capacity of the power supply system and reduce losses in the network. This is especially important for the developing industry of Uzbekistan and the growing needs of the population, which requires an increasingly sustainable energy supply.

As EBRD First Vice President Jürgen Rigterink noted: “Uzbekistan is not only the most populous state in Central Asia, but also the fastest growing economy in the region, which needs sustainable infrastructure solutions. Our Bank is ready to support this growth by funding such projects.”