China’s EximBank may finance purchase of 200 electric buses for Tashkent

China’s Export-Import Bank is planning to provide a loan to finance the purchase of 200 electric buses for Tashkent’s public transportation system, according to the Ministry of Transport of Uzbekistan.

Deputy Minister of Transport, Ilhomjon Abdugafarov, along with representatives from the Capital Transportation Infrastructure Development Authority and the company ToshShahartranshizmat, met with Mo Guo, Head of the Preferential Lending Department at China’s EximBank, to discuss the project’s financing details.

During the meeting, the parties also considered the possibility of an expedited procurement of 1,000 large buses powered by compressed natural gas for Nukus and other regional centers.

The electric bus purchase project is being implemented as part of the state program for the development of “green” transport and environmental protection, approved for 2025. In February, the Chinese company Yutong won a tender to supply 200 electric buses for Tashkent, competing against BYD Auto Industry and ZhongTong Bus Holding.

In July 2024, Ilhom Makhkamov outlined plans to procure 1,000 buses for regional centers and 200 electric buses from BYD for the capital. Then, in mid-January, the Minister of Transport announced the president’s directive to supply an additional 1,000 new buses to Tashkent in 2025.