The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting energy-efficiency measures at Uzbekistan’s leading private producer of fabricated steel products, Tashkent Pipe Plant (TPP).
The Bank’s loan of up to US$ 25 million (€ 21.7 million) will help TPP to replace and upgrade the drawing mill it uses to manufacture long steel products, such as wire rods. The company will also be able to install energy-efficient equipment at its pipe external insulation workshop, including a medium-frequency induction heating system used for metal hardening, forging and shrink fitting.
The project will support the continued modernisation of the company’s long steel product manufacturing, as well as the development of insulated large‑diameter pipe production.
The energy-efficiency measures are expected to help reduce TPP’s natural gas consumption by 22 per cent annually and achieve electricity savings of up to 35 per cent per year. They will also boost the plant’s competitiveness.
With new energy- and resource-efficient technologies in place, TPP will be in a good position to meet growing demand for steel products in the construction and infrastructure sectors.
The project is supported by the Japan-EBRD Cooperation Fund and the Bank’s Finance and Technology Transfer Centre for Climate Change (FINTECC) programme. It is consistent with the Bank’s Green Economy Transition Strategy which encourages investment in energyefficient technologies.
To date, the EBRD has invested almost US$ 6.9 billion (€6 billion) in Uzbekistan across 210 projects, with most of the funds supporting private entrepreneurship. The country has been the leading recipient of EBRD funding in Central Asia for each of the past six years.
