BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 16. Uzbekistan
plans to invest a combined $1.56 billion in 11 waste-to-energy
projects.


This was reflected in the statement by the press service of the
Uzbek president, following a presentation reviewed by President
Shavkat Mirziyoyev on measures to improve waste management,
recycling and electricity generation from waste.


According to the information, as of September 1, $286.8 million
had been invested in the six projects, while purchases of locally
produced goods and services reached $76.6 million. About 2,000
local workers have been involved in construction.


The projects will be implemented in the Kashkadarya, Samarkand,
Tashkent, Andijan, Fergana and Namangan regions. Plants in
Kashkadarya and Samarkand are scheduled to begin operations in
2026, while facilities in the remaining regions are expected to
come online in 2027.


Once fully operational, the six plants will process 3.6 million
metric tons of municipal solid waste annually and generate 1.6
billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.


"Particular attention should be paid to accelerating project
implementation, creating the necessary infrastructure and
conditions for investors, increasing localization and training
qualified personnel," the presidential administration noted.







The presentation also covered five additional waste-to-energy
projects involving companies from Singapore, South Korea and China.
With a combined investment value of $625 million, these projects
are planned for Karakalpakstan and the Jizzakh, Surkhandarya,
Bukhara and Khorezm regions.


The additional projects are expected to process 1.9 million tons
of municipal solid waste annually and generate 635 million kWh of
electricity. They are also projected to create 500 jobs, save 158
million cubic meters of natural gas and reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by 316,000 tons per year.


Trend’s
calculations show that the 11 projects together represent $1.56
billion in planned investment, with potential annual processing
capacity of 5.5 million tons of waste and electricity generation of
about 2.24 billion kWh. The projects could therefore create a
sizeable waste-to-energy segment alongside Uzbekistan’s existing
power-generation infrastructure.


In Trend’s
assessment, the projects represent a shift in Uzbekistan’s waste
policy from landfill-based disposal toward treating municipal waste
as an economic resource. Beyond electricity generation, the
investments could reduce the amount of waste requiring landfill
space while creating demand for local construction, equipment,
maintenance and technical services.


Furthermore, Trend’s analysis shows that the success of the program
will depend not only on building incineration capacity but also on
the quality of waste collection, sorting and emissions control. The
planned localization and workforce-development measures could help
ensure that the projects generate longer-term economic benefits
rather than functioning solely as infrastructure investments.