Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan

02/02/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 02/01/2023 22:17

Measures for developing alternative energy and employing population defined

On 17 June 2021, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev launched the construction of the New Andijan town on the hilly terrain of Andijan region. Today, multi-storey buildings, schools and kindergartens are being built here.

On February 1, a meeting was held in the town under construction on the issues of expanding the use of renewable energy sources and ensuring employment of the population.

The need for electricity increases with the development of the economy and the growth of the population. Over the past five years, households in the country have increased by 1 million 200 thousand, and the number of enterprises has reached 260 thousand. This increased electricity consumption by 35 percent. In particular, in Andijan, Fergana and Namangan regions, the electricity demand increased by 40 percent.

"The most correct solution in such conditions is to increase the use of renewable energy sources", Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

In this regard, the main attention at the meeting was paid to the implementation of projects for the construction of solar and wind stations.

This year, it is planned to build 2 photovoltaic stations with a capacity of 600 megawatts in Pap and Fergana districts. There is an opportunity to build 41 micro HPPs in Andijan, 32 in Namangan and 27 in Fergana. The Head of state noted that it is necessary to use renewable energy sources at large enterprises and, in general, transfer them to self-sufficiency in electricity.

A separate energy will be created for the introduction of solar energy at social facilities, which will be allocated $200 million. The company will install solar panels and water heaters and sell the generated green energy to a public institution. The need for replacing 3,000 old boilers in social facilities with modern equipment was also noted. Measures to save energy resources have been defined. The task was set to create an attractive system for the use of solar energy for the population.

The second issue on the agenda was the reduction of poverty and employment of the population. As is known, the necessary conditions are being created in the regions in this direction. In particular, according to the resolution of the President signed on January 31, Andijan region will be allocated 1.1 trillion UZS for soft loans for family businesses.

Over the past two years, residents of the region have been allocated 8,000 hectares of fertile land for farming, and another 10,000 hectares of land will be allocated in 2023. 36 micro centers are being created in mahallas for the development of the industry. The Head of state noted that Andijan, which is a land of enterprising and hardworking people, can be turned into a region free from unemployment.

Indeed, this year 235 investment projects worth $800 million will be completed in the region with the employment of 40,000 people. 75 thousand permanent and 200 thousand seasonal jobs will be created on the 10 thousand hectares allocated for the population. The tasks for vocational training of the unemployed, improvement of the social and business infrastructure of mahallas were also outlined.

Hokims of districts and cities reported on plans to increase employment.