At present, a republican program on coal field development, developed in Uzbekistan, envisages increasing the share of coal in electricity production to 15% in the country by 2010 as compared to 4% in 2002, technical update management of Uzbekugol Open Joint Stock Company (OJSC) told Trend Capital. In autumn 2008 the company intends to announce a tender on technical re-equipment of the Angrenskiy coal section (Tashkent region), which is the hugest in the country.

The program of further development of the coal field in the country includes several stages of technical re-equipment of the section and its subdivisions, Khamrakul Khursanov, the general director of Uzbekugol OJSC, said. The project will enable to increase the volume of coal production to 8.33mln tons a year and to provide economy of natural gas by 2012.

"At present, we are holding active talks with leading foreign companies to purchase new equipment and contemporary technology. The modern rotor complex was put into exploitation at the section five years ago in accordance with the Cabinet of Ministers’ decree on ’Measures to improve Uzbekugol OJSC composition and to realize a development program of coal industry for 2002-2010’," Khursanov said.

The Angenrski basin is a main coal field of Uzbekistan. The Angrenski section, which was located there, is a huge production enterprise and a leader of coal industry of the country. Coal reserves are openly refined at this section. This coal section produces more than 87% of whole solid fuel in the country. Uzbekugol OJSC said that the Russian ’Western Uralian machine building concern’ Closed Stock Company (CSC) and the Uzbek scientific and design institute of ’Thermalenergyproject’ OJSC had developed preliminary feasibility study of the project to upgrade the section.

According to Uzbekugol OJSC, Uzbekistan plans to increase share of coal in the composition of energy consumption by 2012. Uzbekenergo State Stock Company (SSC) will realize large-scale project on transmission of fuel power stations to year-round burning of solid fuel and reconstruct main source of raw materials – Angrenski coal section with the cost exceeding $300mln in 2009. Correspondingly, it is expected to reduce share of gas in energy balance field from 86.7% to 71.7%.

The project on reconstruction of Angrenski section will be realized through the $60mln loan of the Reconstruction and Development Fund, the loan of local and foreign banks ($81.1mln) and own capital of the Uzbekenergo SSC ($164mln). It is planned to spend $30mln in 2008.