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OUR OPERATIONS, ACTIVITIES AND PERFORMANCE: 2022 HIGHLIGHTS
the Company and the relevant Uzbek government entities and ministries in April 2021. Since then, Stone City Energy B.V., the founding sponsor of the Company has brought international energy market players in as partners to develop the project.
The CCGT power plant project cost is estimated at EUR 1.30 billion which will be funded on an 80:20 senior debt to contributed equity ratio.
The senior debt financiers are (i) lenders covered with export credit agencies and (ii) development finance institutions (DFI). To date, ICD and IsDB have confirmed their participation. Societé Generale (Soc Gen) and KfW-Ipex will benefit from Euler Hermes and Credendo, the German and Belgian export credit agencies, respectively. ICD’s participation will be structured as a procurement (Istisna'a) plus forward lease (Ijarah) facility.
The project is currently being developed under
a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) structure,
and will benefit from a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the National Grid Company of Uzbekistan (NEGU). It involves top-class equipment and technology from renowned suppliers that will help achieve excellent thermal efficiency, competitive generation costs and low emissions.
Given the country’s strong GDP growth trajectory as well as its aging fleet of thermal power plants, investment in modern CCGT projects is one of Uzbekistan’s key strategies. The replacement of existing old gas fired power plants with new and efficient CCGT plants during the first half of this decade will be a significant step and is in line with Uzbekistan’s goal of achieving a carbon-neutral electricity sector by 2050. In addition to its main objective of power production, the project will also fulfil a strategic role for the stability of Uzbekistan’s power grid.
3.3 Helping SMEs scale up in challenging economic environments
Supporting SMEs to thrive post-pandemic
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs are fundamental to economic growth, competitiveness, and job creation. By nature innovative and opportunity-seeking, their viability will be critical to any post-crisis recovery. To this end, SMEs must be supported with a sharpened focus on building sustainability and resilience to enable them to make a greater contribution to a post- pandemic economic revival.
With the coronavirus shifting into an endemic phase, there has been a strong rebound in demand in
both domestic and overseas markets. Despite this, SMEs are still currently facing several headwinds underpinned by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, recurring lockdowns in China and rising inflation. This includes problems such as labour shortages, rising costs of raw materials, supply disruptions, difficulty in obtaining loans and, as of late, higher borrowing costs.
SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMEs) AND ENTREPRENEURS ARE FUNDAMENTAL TO ECONOMIC GROWTH, COMPETITIVENESS, AND JOB CREATION.
REINVIGORATING THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE 21