Khorezm province is set to get a $100 million plant that converts solid municipal waste into electricity, under a decree signed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev Monday.
The investor is South Korea's Green Hammer Co., Ltd. The plant will be capable of processing 800 tons of waste per day and generating 71 million kWh of electricity. The project is scheduled to be carried out between 2026 and 2028, with the Korean investor setting up a foreign-owned project company to implement it.
On September 14, Green Hammer signed an investment agreement with the government, represented by the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade. Earlier, on September 11, the investor had signed agreements with Uzenergosotish covering the purchase of the electricity it produces, and with the Waste Management and Circular Economy Development Agency covering the supply of solid municipal waste.
Under the decree, the project company is guaranteed a market for its electricity through Uzenergosotish for 30 years. Uzenergosotish, in turn, is obligated to purchase that electricity in local currency over the same period.
The Waste Management Agency must guarantee the plant the volume of solid municipal waste it needs, also for 30 years.
The investor is required to provide a $7 million guarantee from a first-class bank to secure the project company's obligations during construction.
The project company will also build, at its own expense, power transmission lines and other infrastructure needed to connect the plant to the national grid. Once commissioned, these facilities will be handed over to National Electric Grids.
The plant will be located in an eco-industrial zone specializing in waste disposal and recycling, or on adjacent land. The Khorezm province hokimiyat (provincial administration) has been instructed to allocate, within one month, 15 hectares of land within the jurisdiction of the Yangi Urtabog mahalla citizens' assembly in Urgench district. The plot will be transferred for permanent use to establish the eco-industrial zone.
Lease payments for the land plots allocated to the project company and National Electric Grids will be set at the same rate as the land tax.
After paying all taxes and fees, the project company will be allowed, for the purposes of financing the project, to open accounts at foreign banks and to receive and use loans and foreign-currency funds. It will also be permitted to pay foreign contractors, suppliers and creditors directly, without routing payments through local bank accounts.
Foreign specialists brought in for the project will be issued entry visas and work permits under standard procedures.
As previously reported, two of six planned waste-incineration plants are expected to come online before the end of 2026. Authorities have also unveiled five additional projects worth a combined $625 million; the new facilities will not only generate electricity from waste but also process the resulting ash.
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