President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, during a visit to the Bukhara province on May 31, launched three major projects - a MTO gas chemical complex (GCC), a solar power plant and an international airport in Bukhara.
MTO Gas Chemical Complex
The complex, which will be erected in the Karakul free economic zone, will reportedly become the first plant in the country using methanol to olefins (MTO) technology. MTO GCC will process lean gas (dry gas with a low content of valuable components, specific to Uzbekistan) and produce polypropylene, low and high density polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate.
According to the presidential press service, the project will draw about $5 billion in investments and advanced technologies from the USA, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Italy and China.
At design capacity the complex will process 1.3 billion cubic meters (BCM) of natural gas and 430 thousand tons of naphtha per year with the production of 1.1 million tons of polymers.
The new plant will create 2,000 jobs. In addition, “it will give impetus to the creation of dozens of enterprises in the construction, textile, leather and footwear, automotive, electrical and other related industries, and will lead to the creation of another 4,000 jobs.”
In 2021, Jizzakh Petroleum (now SANEG) signed a memorandum of understanding with three Russian companies to build an MTO complex in Karakul. According to it, the Russian VEB.RF (now under sanctions), Gazprombank and EXIAR should have considered providing $800 million for the project. During a recent visit to Tashkent, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia was working with Uzbekistan on a project for a gas chemical complex in the Bukhara province, as well as a copper concentration plant at AMMC and others.
The project is being implemented by Sanoat Energetika Guruhi (Saneg). The project was planned to be implemented in 2021-2025.
It is worth noting that Uzbekistan is facing a gas shortage, which is why it is forced to import “blue fuel” from Russia. In addition, due to gas shortages, large projects such as GTL Uzbekistan are not operating at full capacity.
Solar photovoltaic plant
Economic growth increases demand for power by an average of 6% per year. Therefore, new generating capacities are being created in the provinces. In recent years, 10 solar and wind power plants with a capacity of 2 GW have been connected to the grid in Uzbekistan, worth $2 billion in foreign investment. Currently, 32 green generation facilities with a total capacity of 18.3 GW worth $19 billion are being erected together with foreign partners, the report says.
This year, the first 2.6 GW of 14 solar and wind plants will be connected to the grid. As a result, the share of renewable energy in the country's total electricity production should increase from 9 to 15%. In general, by 2030 this figure is planned to increase to 40%.
Today, 9 large projects with total capacity of 4 GW worth about $4.5 billion are being implemented in the Bukhara province.
These will be supplemented by a 250 MW solar power plant, which will be erected by Masdar from the UAE. 648 hectares of land have been allocated for the project in the Alat province. The station is planned to be connected to the unified energy grid in December 2025.
In addition, renewable energy complexes are being erected in the Bukhara province by ACWA Power from Saudi Arabia and Gezhouba from China. By 2030, the province’s capacity will increase 9 times - to 12.5 billion kWh of green energy per year, the presidential press service noted.
International Airport
Under the private partnership terms, it is planned to build a new international airport in the Bukhara province.
As part of the project worth $226 million, it is planned to create an airport infrastructure that meets international standards, the report notes.
The airposrt will have a 200 passengers per hour throughput capacity. By improving the quality of service for passengers and aircraft, it is planned to draw new international airlines.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev launched the construction of these facilities by pressing a symbolic button.
