Uzbekistan plans to attract Indian investors for energy projects costing $3.4 bln

TASHKENT. Sept 2 (Interfax) - Uzbekistan has invited Indian companies to partake in the implementation of five prospective energy projects costing $3.4 billion overall, Uzbek Minister of Energy Sherzod Khodjaev is quoted on social media as saying in an interview on television channel Ozbekiston 24.

"We have five prospective projects at an overall cost of $3.4 billion. They encompass all fields of energy. We have offered Indian companies projects to build high-voltage electricity grids, hydroelectric power plants and thermal power plants. These are currently undergoing tests," Khodjaev said.

He said that the value of the portfolio of projects involving Indian companies already working as contractors in Uzbekistan was over $2 billion. The country now plans to attract Indian businesses not only to carry out contract work, but also to directly invest in large energy projects.

These projects include the construction of pumped storage power plants in Karakalpakstan and the Tashkent region, a thermal power plant in the Surxondaryo region, a high-voltage trunk network through the Kamchik Pass between the Tashkent and Namangan regions, as well as an overhead transmission line from the Navoiy region to the Tashkent region.

"They have know-how, and we have not yet fully formed a team for managing such mega-projects; therefore, they will mainly help us precisely in these areas," the minister said.