The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power Company (ACWA) signed $174 million worth of loans to develop the Bash wind power and Dzhankeldy wind power plants, both located in the Bukhara region in Uzbekistan.
According to ADB’s press office, the financing comprises loans amounting to $40.5 million for Bash and $46.5 million for the Dzhankeldy funded through ADB’s ordinary capital resources. ADB will also administer $40.5 million for Bash and $46.5 million for Dzhankeldy from the Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP), administered by ADB.
Each power plant consists of 79 wind turbines, for a total of 158 turbines that will generate 3,235 gigawatt-hours and displace nearly 2 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent a year. Together, Bash and Dzhankeldy will be the largest utility-scale wind power development in the Central West Asia region. The loans will also fund the construction of 282.5 kilometers of 500-kilovolt, single-circuit overhead transmission to connect to the power grid.
ADB has supported approximately 2,500 megawatts of renewable energy in Uzbekistan since 2019, after the country opened up the sector to private sector participants. The total cost of ADB’s latest collaboration with ACWA is approximately $1.35 billion.
Parallel lenders include the Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, OPEC Fund for International Development, and Proparco.
LEAP is an ADB-managed fund, capitalized with a $1.5 billion commitment by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Established in 2016, LEAP focuses on delivering high-quality and sustainable private sector infrastructure projects that reduce carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency, and offer accessible and affordable health care, education, and communication services to ADB’s developing member countries.
Bash and Dzhankeldy are special-purpose vehicles owned by ACWA Power, a regional leader in renewable energy. ACWA was established in 2008 and is a developer, investor, and operator of power generation and desalination plants, with 67 assets in operation, construction, or advanced development across 13 countries.
Uzbekistan is the company’s second-largest investor after Saudi Arabia. In March, Uzbek authorities signed agreements with ACWA Power to build two solar power plants with a total capacity of 1,400 MW in the Tashkent and Samarkand regions, as well as energy storage systems for 1,200 MW in three regions.
