Direct investments totaling $357 million will be directed to the distribution energy infrastructure of the Samarkand region. The launch of this major public-private partnership (PPP) project was officially formalized by a decree signed by Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Although the distribution networks themselves will retain full state ownership, the management and operation of these networks will be transferred to a private operator for a period of 12 years. The main objective of this project is to update outdated equipment, eliminate capacity shortages, and guarantee reliable electricity supply for both the population and new industrial enterprises.
The result of an international tender was the Turkish firm Aksa Elektrik Perakende Satış A.Ş., which established the Uzbek enterprise Aksa Samarqand Electricity Distribution to implement the project. During the first two years of the transition period, the investor commits to allocating no less than $27 million, after which large-scale reconstruction of lines and integration of digital control systems will begin.
An important requirement for the investor is the systematic reduction of electricity losses. A specific plan for reducing losses will be determined after conducting a technical audit: if current losses are 20–25%, the investor is obliged to reduce them by 1.4 percentage points annually; if the loss level is 15–20%, the reduction must be 0.6 percentage points.
The Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Economy and Finance will monitor the fulfillment of obligations and investment volumes by all parties. Furthermore, Uzbekistan had previously announced the introduction of a unified energy passport for each mahalla, which aggregates data on consumers, the condition of gas and electricity networks, as well as required repair and modernization work.