Zarafshon Wind

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The IFC is considering a loan to support the Zarafshan Wind Project (the Project), a 500MW (installed capacity) wind IPP project in the Navoi region of Uzbekistan, that is being developed on a bilateral basis between the Government of Uzbekistan (GoU) and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC (Masdar or the Company) (https://masdar.ae/). Masdar is a renewable energy and sustainable urban development company wholly owned by Mubadala Investment Company PJSC (Mubadala). The project consists of the construction, operation, and maintenance of the wind farm, which it is anticipated to be operational for 25 years. The proposed project is planned to comprise up to 111 wind turbine generators (WTGs), each with a capacity of up to 4.5 MW. The company is evaluating its turbine vendor options, with the current candidate WTG being the Goldwind 155-4500 model with a hub height of 95 m and a rotor diameter of 155 m. In the event that an alternate turbine is chosen, project impacts will be reassessed, and the ESIA will be revised accordingly and re-disclosed. The wind turbines will be connected to the national grid via a substation located within the project area and two short 220 kV over head transmission lines (OHLs) (approximately 510 m and 630m in length). Additional infrastructure will include a fenced compound area, a site access road, tracks to access each turbine, underground cabling from the turbines to the substation. During project construction, a concrete batching plant will be developed by a local concrete company, at an offsite location to service the project.  This has been deemed to be an associated facility to the project. It is expected that construction will occur from 2022 to late 2024 and, once operational, will supply power to the national grid. The project area is in the Tamdy District of the Navoi region. It lies within the central part of the Kyzylkum Desert and occupies approximately 9,600 hectares, of which construction activities will impact around 150 ha. Portions of the project area are leased to farmers who currently use the land for rough grazing. The project is located approximately 7 km east of the center of Zarafshan City. All land is owned by the government and managed by a government entity referred to as the 'New Committee', on behalf of the central government. The landscape is semi-arid and relatively sparsely populated, with nine villages located in the general vicinity of the project but none within the project area. As a result, the project footprint avoids any need for physical displacement and minimizes risks from shadow flicker or operational noise-related nuisance to local community members. To the north (around 3.5 km distance) is Mount Aktau Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA), which supports breeding and resident populations of raptors that are of international and national conservation status.  The project is to be developed under a turnkey EPC Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract, executed by Chinese EPC firm SEPCOIII. SEPCOIII will also perform the role of Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contractor for the first two years of operations, after which Masdar Specialized Technical Services will be appointed. It is anticipated that the turbine supplier will perform long Term Service Agreement (LTSA) for the WTG maintenance.