The Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan has announced the three-year project to modernise the Kadyrinskaya Hydropower Plant (Kadyrinskaya HPP-3) has been completed on time.
 
The modernisation was in cooperation with a leading Chinese hydropower enterprise and a team of Chinese specialists. The project cost was $27.6 million, and capital was provided through a $9.8 million Eximbank loan from the People’s Republic of China and $17.8 million from Uzbekistan’s own funds.
 
This project is one of several ongoing investment projects to both construct new hydropower plants and modernise existing ones. It is part of Uzbekistan’s ambitious national energy strategy seeking to generate a quarter of all electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The strategy aims for 3.8 GW of hydro energy, 5 GW of solar energy and up to 3 GW of wind energy.
 
The project, which commenced in December 2017 following a Presidential Decree, was completed on time despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. During the last months of the project, employees and contractors worked around the clock under special quarantine conditions. 
 
The successful completion of the project was marked in a ceremony attended by foreign partners and representatives from the Kadyrinskaya HPP-3 plant and JSC Uzbekhydroenergo, Uzbekistan's state hydropower producer and developer.
 
Sherzod Khodjaev, Deputy Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan, said: “The modernisation of the Kadyrinskaya HPP-3 plant is a great step forward in making effective use of Uzbekistan’s hydropower potential and forming a unified system for managing water and energy resources.
 
“Progress in Uzbekistan’s hydropower industry will increase energy efficiency and the contribution of renewable energy to the country’s energy balance.”
 
Modernisation of the plant has increased its capacity from 13.23 MW to 15.34 MW and average annual power output to 124.4 million kWh.
 
The main hydraulic equipment was produced by Dongfang Electric International Corporation, the Chinese state-owned manufacturer of power generating equipment, with assembly and installation executed by highly qualified international and Uzbek specialists. 
 
Design workstreams executed by specialists from JSC Hydroproject, technical equipment produced and delivered by JSC Suvsanoatmash and JSC Uzbekgidroenergostroy assisted with construction of individual elements. —Tradearabia News Service