Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Uzbekistan plans to reactivate an underground gas storage facility in Sokh district to provide the population of the Ferghana Valley with gas. This was stated on 1 February by President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev during his visit to Andijan region.

The head of Uzbekistan noted that at one time the underground storage in Sokh was closed for certain reasons.

He noted that Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan agreed to open a gas storage facility. “In the near future, our Minister of Energy will visit Kyrgyzstan and discuss technical aspects,” Shavkat Mirziyoyev added.

Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov noted that the launch of the gas storage facility will improve gas supply to consumers in the Ferghana Valley.

According to him, the underground gas storage in Sokh can store about 2.5-3 billion cubic meters. About 1.3 billion cubic meters of gas can be used, and the rest is buffer gas.

The minister noted that this would allow supplying the valley with 13 million cubic meters of gas every day during the winter season.

Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov noted that the main gas storage is located on the territory of Kyrgyzstan, and the compressors are on the territory of Uzbekistan. He noted that Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are negotiating the common use of the facility.

The Minister added that the working group will study in detail all the technical and economic aspects. It is necessary to study the condition of the gas storage, as the facility has not been used for many years.