Japanese Itochu and Marubeni have shown interest in participating in the modernization of Uzbekistan’s gas transmission system (GTS), the Ministry of Energy said.
The delegation of the Ministry of Energy held talks in Tokyo with the leadership of Itochu and Marubeni on the joint Uzbekistan’s gas transmission system modernization program with the introduction of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA).
Itochu and Marubeni are interested in participating in an international tender for the implementation of the first phase of a project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). According to the Ministry of Energy, the second phase of the project could be implemented with the help of soft loans of the Japanese government. Other details of the negotiations were not disclosed.
Earlier, Uzbekneftegaz reported that ADB eyed to participate in financing Uzbekistan’s gas transmission system modernization program.
Uzbekneftegaz is developing a US$ 1.5 billion worth of Uzbekistan’s gas transmission system modernization program. The program provides for the construction of new gas pipelines and compressor stations, the replacement and modernization of gas pumping units, and the elimination of “energy bottlenecks” in gas pipelines.
