Uzbekistan intends to implement 11 projects for electricity generation through the incineration of municipal solid waste between 2026 and 2027, with a total cost of $1.558 billion. Companies from China, Singapore, and South Korea are participating in these projects. The plan was presented to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on September 10.
Six projects, totaling $933 million, are being implemented in collaboration with Chinese companies in the regions of Kashkadarya, Samarkand, Tashkent, Andijan, Fergana, and Namangan. As of September 1, $286.8 million has already been invested, and local goods and services procurement amounted to $76.6 million. Approximately 2,000 local workers are employed in the construction.
Two plants in the Kashkadarya and Samarkand regions are planned to start operations in 2026, while the remaining four will begin in 2027. At full capacity, these six plants will be able to process 3.6 million tons of municipal solid waste annually and generate 1.6 billion kWh of electricity.
Five additional investment projects, with a total value of $625 million, have been proposed by companies from Singapore, South Korea, and China. They are planned for the regions of Karakalpakstan, Jizzakh, Surkhandarya, Bukhara, and Khorezm.
According to Sharipbek Hasanov, Director of the Waste Management and Circular Economy Development Agency, five new plants are expected to be commissioned by the end of 2027. They will additionally process 1.9 million tons of waste annually and produce 635 million kWh of electricity. The projects are also expected to create 500 jobs, save 158 million cubic meters of natural gas annually, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 316,000 tons.
Hasanov discussed these figures with the Uzbekistan 24 television channel. He noted that the projects will help reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and lessen the burden on existing dumpsites. In the future, parks and gardens are planned to be created on the former landfill sites.
Hasanov emphasized that the plants will operate using environmentally friendly technologies. Ash generated during incineration will be processed by investors to obtain value-added products, some of which are planned for export.
In October 2024, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev called the projects for recycling household waste and producing energy and products from it 'not just factories, but one of the issues that will determine our future'. In March 2025, he signed a decree on the implementation of projects for electricity generation through the incineration of municipal solid waste.
One such project is the implementation in Samarkand in collaboration with the Chinese company Shanghai SUS Environment. The SUS Environment plant in Samarkand is being built on the territory of the central landfill in the Navruz mahalla of the Khushrav massif. Fifteen hectares have been allocated for this project from the total landfill area of one hundred hectares. The foundation laying took place on July 18, 2025.
Waste-to-energy plants use thermal treatment technology for industrial and municipal waste. The heat generated during combustion is used to produce thermal and electrical energy.
