Portfolio of Uzbekistan's joint projects with Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power tops $17 bln

TASHKENT. June 5 (Interfax) - Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has met with Mohammad Abunayyan, co-chairman of the Saudi-Uzbek Business Council and board chairman of ACWA Power, to discuss broader cooperation between Uzbek and Saudi Arabian companies, including joint investment projects, Uzbek media reported on Wednesday.

"The parties reviewed aspects of the continued expansion of practical cooperation with Saudi Arabian companies, including the implementation of joint investment projects," it said.

Mirziyoyev praised productive partnership with ACWA Power and underscored its leading role in modernizing Uzbekistan's energy sector based on green technology, it said.

"The portfolio of current and forward-looking projects tops $17 billion," it said.

Mirziyoyev and Abunayyan mentioned the importance of continuing active work to attract Saudi companies to Uzbekistan through the Business Council's activities. They particularly focused on accelerating joint projects on developing airport infrastructure, digitalizing the energy sector, modernizing heat supply networks, recycling waste, producing pharmaceutical and textile goods, opening medical clinics, setting up tourist centers, promoting agricultural projects, and other priorities.

ACWA Power is a major investor in Uzbekistan's power generation sector. It launched a 1.5 GW combined cycle power plant in the Sirdaryo region in 2023. Last November, ACWA Power also started building a green hydrogen production facility in the Tashkent region with an annual capacity of 3,000 tonnes of hydrogen at the initial stage, which will subsequently be processed into mineral fertilizers. Aside from this, the Saudi company is building photovoltaic power plants with an aggregate capacity of 1,400 MW in the Tashkent and Samarkand regions, as well as power storage systems and large wind farms in the Uzbek autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan, the Bukhara region, and other parts of the country.