“Jizzakh is a key driver of regional economic growth,” said Hao Zhang, Principal Urban Development Specialist with ADB’s Central and West Asia Department. “This project will give at least 85,000 residents and over 350 businesses access to clean water, and reliable sewage collection and wastewater management services.”

A former Silk Road junction connecting Samarkand with the Fergana Valley in eastern Uzbekistan, Jizzakh is the capital of the province of the same name, an agro-industrial hub rich in mineral resources. The government recently approved a long-term development plan that will accelerate urbanization, expand some industries and relocate others, and attract foreign investment by establishing a special industrial zone.

To cope with anexpected dramatic increase in the city’s population, the project will carry out a massive rehabilitation of Jizzakh’s deteriorated wastewater and sewage system, constructed in the 1970s and barely maintained since. This has resulted in serious environmental damage and public health threats such as an alarming rise in acute intestinal infections and viral hepatitis.

Along with a new wastewater treatment plant, the project will construct or rehabilitate over 62 kilometers of trunk sewers and four pumping stationsand provide support to operate and maintain the new facilities. By the time the project is completed in 2020, the system will be able collect and treat up to 30,000 cubic meters of raw sewage per day, and the pumping capacity will have been increased to more than 15,000 cubic meters per day from around 9,000 cubic meters per day in 2013.In addition, the project will support the establishment of a provincial entity to manage sewage and wastewater operations across Jizzakh Province, as well as training its management staff.

The $81 million loan comes from ADB’s concessional Asian Development Fund, and the Uzbek government will provide counterpart support of $15.6 million.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2014, ADB assistance totaled $22.9 billion, including cofinancing of $9.2 billion.