JBIC allocates nearly $400 million loan for construction of Syrdarya-2 TPP

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) approved a loan for the construction of a new thermal power plant in Uzbekistan.

Bank representatives signed a project financing agreement with Enersok Foreign Enterprise. It acts as the general contractor for the construction of a gas thermal power plant with a capacity of 1.6 GW in the Syrdarya region, and after launching, it will manage the TPP for 25 years.

JBIC will provide $393 million of its own funds to the project. Including co-financing from Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui, Société Générale banks, as well as from the International Finance Corporation, the total investment will amount to $805 million.

In particular, the new project will be the second jointly funded by JBIC and the IFC after the conclusion of a memorandum between them in 2020. Part of the loan provided by private banks will be insured by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance.

The tender for the construction of the Syrdarya-2 combined cycle thermal power plant was held in November 2021. The winner was a consortium of French EDF, Qatari Nebras Power and Japanese Sojitz Corporation (later joined by Kyuden International). It established the engineering company Enersok.

According to calculations, upon completion of construction, the power plant will provide electricity to over 3 million people. The efficiency of its combined cycle plant will be 60% - twice as high as that of outdated models.

JBIC last fall announced the allocation of $500 million in direct investment for the future thermal power plant. In turn, the IFC provided $150 million and also reported on participation in raising funding in excess of $1 billion.