Uzbekistan has secured a 20-year loan agreement worth €55.8 million with the French Development Agency (FDA) to finance the building of new hydropower plants and the modernisation of existing ones.

The country hopes to generate a quarter of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, including 3.8GW of hydropower – the technology can provide cheap and environmentally-friendly electricity, save fuel resources and meet the nation’s growing demand for energy.

Around €46.5 million (£41.6m) will contribute to the construction of a small hydropower plant in Tashkent and assist in the construction of two small projects in the Southern Fergana Canal, while €9.3 million (£8.3m) will contribute to a hydropower safety project in Charvak.

By the end of 2020, it is expected that seven projects with additional capacity of 118.3 MW will have been commissioned.