Once operational in 2024, Sirdarya facility will produce 15 per cent of the power demand and 8 per cent of installed power capacity in Uzbekistan, and displace 2 million tons of carbon emissions per year

ACWA Power, a leading Saudi power generation company, signed a share purchase agreement with China’s Silk Road Fund for the $1-billion 1.5-GW Sirdarya combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) facility in Uzbekistan.

The partnership was formalised in a virtual signing ceremony attended by Mohammad Abunayyan, ACWA Power Chairman, and ZHU Jun, Chairwoman of Silk Road Fund.

According to the terms of the agreement, ACWA Power will be the majority shareholder in the project with 51 per cent, and the Silk Road Fund will own 49 per cent.

The share purchase agreement is expected to close by Q4 2022.

The facility is ACWA Power and Silk Road Fund’s first strategic partnership in Uzbekistan and Central Asia.

Uzbekistan’s JSC National Grid will function as the sole off taker of the project for a period of 25 years.

Located in Shirin, southern Uzbekistan, the project will support the Uzbekistan in providing cost-effective and energy efficient power solutions and displace 2 million tons of carbon emissions per year.

Once completed in early 2024, the project will account for 8 per cent of the country’s total power capacity and meet 15 per cent of the country’s electricity demand across industry and households.

According to Paddy Padmanathan, CEO and Vice Chairman of ACWA Power: 'As ACWA Power continues to expand globally, our mission to provide reliable, responsible, and affordable power and water cannot be achieved alone. Under our successful public-private partnership model, the support of global investors like Silk Road Fund is critical in ensuring the development of advanced energy infrastructure that benefits both nations and communities, and enables robust socio-economic progress.'

'The Sirdarya project symbolises the cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative among China, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. Silk Road Fund will partner with ACWA Power to bring cleaner power in a more efficient way to local people,' says ZHU Jun, Chairwoman of Silk Road Fund.

In addition to Sirdarya, ACWA Power has three additional projects in Uzbekistan, chiefly in wind energy.