Republic of Uzbekistan／Loan Insurance for Samarkand 1&2 Solar Power Plant and Battery Energy Storage System Project
-The first project to support a renewable energy project in Central Asia-

Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI, Chairman and CEO: Atsuo Kuroda) has decided to provide insurance for loans extended by commercial financial institutions to projects invested by Sumitomo Corporation, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. and Shikoku Electric Power Company, together with ACWA Power Company. The projects will construct, own, and operate solar power plants and large-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems(“BESS”) in Uzbekistan.

The projects will construct the largest solar power plants (total capacity: 1,000MW) and BESS (total storage capacity: 1,336MWh) in Samarkand and Bukhara regions, with commercial operation targeted to begin in 2027. All electricity generated will be sold to Uzbekistan’s state-owned National Electric Grid of Uzbekistan (NEGU) for 25 years under the Power Purchase Agreements.

Of the project financing procured by the project companies from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (“JBIC”), Asian Development Bank (“ADB”), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”), Islamic Development Bank (“IsDB”), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank Tokyo Branch, The Norinchukin Bank, KfW IPEX-Bank, NEXI provides cover for approximately USD 425 million loan extended by the commercial banks. This is the first cooperation on a project basis with IsDB based on the Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) signed in 2019. Furthermore, NEXI also applies Loan Insurance for Green Innovation with commercial risk coverage of 97.5% due to its contribution to environmental protection and climate change prevention. The projects are in line with the LEAD Initiative (in the Environmental and Energy field) which NEXI actively promotes.

ACWA Power Company, a co-investor with Japanese sponsors, is the largest independent power producer (IPP) in the Middle East, operating over 100 assets across 15 countries, mainly in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa. The company is backed by the Public Investment Fund (“PIF”) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as its largest shareholder. At the 9th Future Investment Initiative (“FII”) held in Riyadh, the signing of the financing agreements for the projects were announced on October 28. Cooperation with ACWA Power Company through these projects will contribute to further strengthening Japan-Saudi Arabia and Japan-Uzbekistan relations.

Uzbekistan is expected to see rising electricity demand due to population growth and economic development, while approximately 80% of its power generation currently relies on natural gas, and aging thermal power plans pose challenges. The government of Uzbekistan aims to increase the share of renewable energy to 30% of total generation capacity by 2030, and the projects are expected to play a key role in achieving that goal.

Additionally, the projects are in line with the Japanese government’s Infrastructure System Overseas Promotion Strategy 2030, which identifies “GX (Green Transformation), Climate Change and Environment related Initiatives”, as one of the objectives, such as the cooperation toward net zero according to a partner country's circumstances. Also, the projects contribute to the “Central Asia plus Japan” Dialogue and Economic Energy Dialogue framework established in September 2023 to accelerate energy transition projects though public-private finance.

The financial support by NEXI is expected to expand the business opportunities of Japanese companies in Central Asia including Uzbekistan, as well as maintain and increase the global competitiveness of Japanese businesses in renewable energy development.

NEXI will continue to actively support Japanese companies to expand their global business, as a Japanese financial institution to implement national policies.

Reference

Insured	Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank Tokyo Branch, The Norinchukin Bank
Insured Value	approximately USD 425 million
Tenor	21 years
Covered risk	Political risk 100%, Commercial risk 97.5%

Contact
Power Group, Loan Insurance Department
Tel: +81-(0)3-3512-7340

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¹ NEXI News Release, August 28, 2019
MOUs with Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Islamic Corporation for the　Insurance of Investments and Export Credit (ICIEC) and African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI)-Japan Desk will be established under the MOUs-
² NEXI News Release, July 30, 2019
NEXI launches Loan Insurance for Green Innovation｜Topics｜NEXI Nippon Export and Investment Insurance
NEXI News Release, October 4, 2021
Enhancement of “Loan Insurance for Green Innovation”
³ In December 2020, NEXI announced the LEAD Initiative to respond to the business environment with and after the COVID-19. This initiative is intended to actively promote the underwriting of projects, with a focus on contributing to global carbon neutrality, solving social issues, and achieving the SDGs. Under this initiative, we aim to underwrite insurance of total value of JPY 1 trillion by the end of fiscal year 2025, while diversifying our funding sources not only from traditional capital providers, but also from institutional investors, etc.