Mubadala and TAQA invest in the modernization of the Talimarjan thermal power plant

On September 9, 2022, a solemn ceremony of signing agreements was held in Tashkent, providing for large-scale investments by companies from the United Arab Emirates Mubadala and TAQA in the Talimarjan TPP, which will allow continuing the modernization and expansion of the capacities of the largest power plant in Uzbekistan.

The ceremony was attended by the UAE – Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suheil al-Mazrui and the heads of Mubadala and TAQA. The Uzbek side was attended by Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev, heads of the Ministry of Energy, National Electric Networks and Thermal Power Plants joint-stock companies.

The signed agreements provide for the creation of a joint venture that will manage the Talimarjan TPP. The investments of the Emirati companies will be directed in the form of payment for an 80% share in the authorized capital of the joint venture, which is being created with a capital of $300 million, and the repayment of about $700 million of loans that were attracted by Talimarjan TPP JSC earlier. Thus, Emirati companies are investing almost $1 billion in Talimarjan TPP.

The signed agreements open up opportunities for further investment by UAE companies in expanding the generating capacities of the Talimarjan TPP and other thermal power plants by equipping them with the most modern combined cycle combined cycle power generation units. These plants are many times superior to traditional steam power plants in terms of natural gas consumption, efficiency and emissions. Thus, the implementation of the agreements reached will significantly improve the technological level and reliability of the Talimarjan TPP, contributing to a stable and high-quality power supply to the population, the social sphere and industries.

The large-scale agreements concluded with Mubadala and TAQA were the result of reforms in the electric power industry and a radical improvement in the country’s investment climate, carried out under the leadership of the Head of State, as well as the consistent foreign policy of Uzbekistan, the key goal of which is to attract foreign investment in the modernization of the economy to create high-tech jobs with decent wages.

The next stage of cooperation will be investments by Emirati companies in additional generating capacities of Talimarjan TPP JSC. The active participation of foreign investment in the strategic energy industry will allow replacing the traditional approach to financing large infrastructure assets through external borrowing with foreign direct investment, thereby continuing to ensure the solid sustainability of the republic’s external debt and the consistent improvement of the sovereign credit rating.

Mubadala is an investment company owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi with operations in over 30 countries. The company’s investment portfolio includes projects in sectors such as aerospace, agribusiness, ICT, metalworking, mining, utilities. The company’s total assets exceed $250 billion.

TAQA is an energy company owned by ADQ investment holding and operating in more than 11 countries around the world. The total value of the company’s assets is more than $80 billion.