Masdar, the UAE-based renewable energy company, has signed a Power Purchase Agreement and a Government Support Agreement (GSA) with Uzbekistan to design, finance, build and operate the country’s first solar power plant through a private-public partnership (PPP). According to a statement released to WAM, the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan last month that Masdar had submitted the lowest tariff of $2.679 per kilowatthour in the programme’s competitive auction to develop the 100-megawatt (MW) utilityscale PV Solar Plant, which will be located in the Navoi region of the country.

“Today’s signing is a historic milestone for Uzbekistan and its ambitions to diversify its energy mix,” said Al Ramahi, according to the report. As transaction advisor, the International Finance Corporation helped the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Energy to design and tender the PPP, which attracted more than 40 bidders, under its Scaling Solar programme.

The signing ceremony highlighted Uzbekistan’s goal of developing 5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2030. Under the IFC’s Scaling Solar programme, Uzbekistan aims to install 1GW of solar PV power. As per the deal, Masdar will design, finance, build and operate the PV power plant in the Navoi region for 25 years. Construction will start in the second quarter of 2020, with commissioning scheduled for the second quarter of 2021. The power generating capacity of the renewable energy projects in which Masdar is a partner is around 5GW, representing a combined investment of approximately $13.5 billion.

The PPP was signed by Dadajon Isakulov, chairman of JSC National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan, and Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi in capital Tashkent, in the presence of Sardor Umurzakov, Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Shukhrat Vafaev, Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade; Sherzod Khodjaev, Deputy Minister of Energy. Other high-level officials from both Uzbekistan and the UAE, including Saeed Matar Al-Qamzi, UAE Ambassador to Uzbekistan; and Yousif Al Ali, Acting Executive Director, Clean Energy, Masdar also took part.