The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is helping to improve the efficiency of irrigation in the Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan, the most densely populated part of Central Asia. The EBRD funds will finance necessary engineering works in three Uzbek oblasts that are heavily reliant on fresh water withdrawals from the Syr Darya river, which is largely fed by glacial melts affected by global warming.

An EBRD sovereign loan of up to US$ 199.96 million to the Republic of Uzbekistan will help modernise 118 obsolete pumping stations built in the Soviet era across the Uzbek part of the Fergana Valley. It will be used to acquire and install modern, energy-efficient pumping units and to refurbish associated infrastructure.

The project will boost the efficiency of the regional irrigation water conveyancing system, important to a region dependant on irrigated agriculture and known for relatively low levels of rainfall throughout the year. The replacement of old water pumps with modern equipment will ensure better control over the flow of water and reduce losses. The upgrade is expected to make an immediate environmental impact by decreasing annual electricity consumption by 277,000 MWh and reducing annual CO2 emissions by 129,000 tonnes.