Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) have signed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the Sazagan Solar 1 and 2 projects in Uzbekistan.

The projects are billed as providing a model for how international expertise can accelerate the development of local industry.

More than 10 Uzbek manufacturers and 40 subcontractors are already engaged in the projects, including cable producers, metal fabricators and electrical equipment suppliers. Among the milestones is the design of Uzbekistan’s first 500-kV double-circuit transmission towers.

Localisation efforts extend beyond equipment to workforce development. More than 3,000 jobs will be created during construction.

ACWA Power and L&T are also partnering with Tashkent State Technical University, Samarkand State University of Architecture and Construction and Shirin Energy College through the Energy and Water Academy to train engineers and technicians.

Once operational, the plants are expected to supply clean electricity to hundreds of thousands of households, reduce emissions and contribute to Uzbekistan’s target of sourcing between 25 and 40% of its energy from renewables — and up to 50% — by 2030.

ACWA Power, already one of Uzbekistan’s largest foreign investors, has committed more than $15bn across 11 projects in the country. L&T brings decades of experience in delivering large-scale renewable and infrastructure projects across global markets.

Local execution partners on the projects include Juru Energy and UzAssystem for engineering and design. Key suppliers include Techno Cable Group, ProCab, UzKable, Artikul Aziya Kabel, Orient Metal, Mirankul Construction Material Group, Nura Electric, O’zelektroapparat (UZEA) and BMK. Execution partners also include UET Construction, UZEA and Turkistan Gas Project Group (TGPG).

Currently, Uzbekistan operates 12 solar plants with a combined capacity of 4,682 MW and five wind plants.

Including hydro, renewables have produced 13.22bn kWh year-to-date, accounting for 22% of national output — enough to power 7.3mn households for nine months or 5.5mn for a year.