TASHKENT, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have both decided to finance Central Asia's largest wind farm project the Zarafshan Wind Farm.

The ADB said Monday in a statement that it "signed a 52-million-U.S. dollar loan agreement" with Abu Dhabi-headquartered energy company Masdar "to finance Uzbekistan's first wind power plant and the largest yet developed in Central Asia."

It will help Uzbekistan "meet rapidly rising energy demand, deliver reliable power supplies to underserved urban and rural areas, meet its climate action goals, and improve resilience against climate change impacts," the ADB said.

In a separate statement, the EBRD said that it "has organized a financing package of 74 million dollars" to Masdar for "the development, construction and operation" of the wind farm.

In late 2020, the Uzbek government approved an investment agreement with Masdar to build the Zarafshan Wind Farm, which will be located in central Uzbekistan's Navoi region and is expected to start commercial operation in 2024.

Masdar said on its website that with a capacity of 500 MW, the project will provide enough electricity to power 500,000 homes and will displace 1.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Uzbekistan has planned to achieve 12 GW of solar and wind capacity by 2030. Enditem

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