On November 25, in the Bostanlyk district of the Tashkent province, the Pskem river bed was blocked for the construction of the Pskem hydroelectric power station, the Gazeta.uz correspondent reports. During construction, which is being carried out by the Uzbekhydroenergo company, the water of the river will pass through an underground tunnel about 10 km long.

The channel blocking ceremony was attended by the chairman of "Uzbekhydroenergo" Abdugani Sanginov and the Minister of Construction Botir Zokirov.

“Pskem HPP is a unique and complex project. Geological exploration alone took two and a half to three years ... The height of the Charvak reservoir dam is 167 meters, the Tupalang dam - 187 meters, while the Pskem reservoir dam will be 200 meters high. This means that it will be included in the ten largest dams in the world,” said Abdugani Sanginov. “The most important thing is that it must be safe,” he added.

Before starting work, a prayer from the Koran was read. The participants wished that the future hydroelectric power station would be safe and serve the benefit of the people.

By the of the President of Uzbekistan the Program of Measures for the Further Development of Hydropower for 2017-2021 decree " dated May 2, 2017, it is planned to build five large hydropower plants on the Pskem River with a length of 73 km with a total capacity of 1320 MW and an average annual capacity of 3140 million kWh. One of them is the Pskem HPP.

According to the press service of Uzbekgidroenergo, the Pskem HPP, which will be located 120 km north-east of Tashkent and 45 km up from the Charvak reservoir, will have a capacity of 400 MW and generate an average of 946.1 million kWh electricity per year. It will become the second largest hydropower plant after the Charvak hydropower plant.

The feasibility study for the project of using the hydropower potential of the Pskem River was developed back in 1987. In the fall of 2018, on the basis of a technical order developed by JSC Hydroproject, design and survey, research and preliminary construction and installation work began.

With the participation of leading geological experts in the field of hydropower from Russia and Ukraine, in particular, the Russian JSC "Lengidroproekt", the geological justification and other materials of the project were revised. In the laboratory of static research of soils of JSC "VNIIG named after B. Ye. Vedeneeva" of Russia, soil samples were tested. Based on its results, Lengidroproekt in December 2018 submitted a conclusion on the geological conditions of the area where the main structures of the Pskem HPP will be located.

Specialists from the Moscow-based Institute "Hydroproject" were involved for the methodological management of geological and research works. The Ingeoproekt company of Russia carried out drilling works at the bottom of the river. On the technical solutions adopted within the framework of the project, positive opinions were obtained from the engineering company Tractebel Engineering (Germany).

The Pskem reservoir will have a volume of 511.2 million cubic meters, useful volume - 468.9 million cubic meters. It is expected that the launch of the hydroelectric power station will accelerate the socio-economic development of the province and will save up to 300 thousand tons of standard fuel, or 250 million cubic meters of natural gas, per year.

According to the presidential decree of October 4, 2021, the project is planned to master investments totaling US$ 799.6 million. Taking into account the scope of work and technological complexity, the project is being implemented in two stages.

The first stage, worth US$ 412 million, calculated for 2018-2021, provides for the construction of hydraulic structures, water tunnels, a hydroelectric power station, 260 km of power lines and infrastructure. As part of the preparatory work on the project, the construction of the 1st tier of the intake structure, an underground tunnel with a length of 1288 meters for drainage of water during the construction and operational period, a tunnel connected to it with a length of 285 meters for supplying water to the 1st and 2nd units, was completed, 2 culvert management facilities; and final water discharge facility. The metal structures for these structures were manufactured by the Suvsanoatmash enterprise of the Uzbekhydroenergo system. The hydromechanical equipment was supplied by the Russian company Energosila, whose specialists also supervised the installation of metal structures and equipment.

In addition, internal roads with a length of 46 km and 7 infrastructure facilities were built. Construction of the transmission line, an underground tunnel on the left bank of the river and quarrying are ongoing. To date, US$ 91.3 million has been spent on the first stage.

The installation of temporary impellers of hydraulic units operating at low pressure will make it possible to produce 401.5 million kWh of electricity before the launch of the hydroelectric power station in 2022–2026. They are also planned to be used in the implementation of projects for the construction of two other hydroelectric power plants on the river - YuqoriPskem and Mullalak

At the second stage of the project, worth 387.6 million dollars, in 2022-2026, it is planned to build a dam. The blocking of the river bed is the beginning of this stage. Now the water of the river flows through an underground tunnel at a speed of 280 meters per second.

The commissioning of the Pskem HPP is scheduled for 2026.