Till the end of the year the State Joint-Stock Company Uzbekenergo (with Uzbekugol in its structure) plans to announce a tender on two lots – conducting of a modernization project on Novo-Angren Thermal Power Plant and Angren Opencast Colliery.

The modernization of Angren colliery will raise till the end of 2012 the coal mining volumes to 7.5 mln tons by increasing the stripping volumes 2.3 times, to 38 mln cubic meters.

The project will be financed by means of the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan, credits of local and foreign banks, investors’ own funds and Uzbekenergo.

Also, by 2013, it is intended to increase the mining volumes up to 500 thousand tons a year at the operating Shargun and Baysun coal mines in Surhandarya province against 160 thousand tons in 2007.

The modernization project provides for building of new mines on prospected sites of Baysun deposit, supplementary exploration on two new sites with predicted rise of coal resources, acquiring of process machinery as well as modernization of coal transportation system.

Experts predict the program will enable increasing the share of coal in the structure of electric power generation. We should note that in the power industry structure, electric power is partially generated of other energy carriers – black oil and hydroelectric power stations.

Coal mining growth in Uzbekistan is predicted to go along with building of new cement and brick plants, and shifting of operating Uzstroymateriali Joint-Stock Company (construction materials) on use of coal energy carrier.

At the moment, the Open Joint-Stock Company Uzbekugol is conducting industrial development of the largest Angren coal deposit in Tashkent province with prospected coal reserves of 1.9 bln tons.

The Open Joint-Stock Company Shargunugol has the license to develop Baysun and Shargun coal deposits in Surhandarya province, southern Uzbekistan. The Consortium of British SAB Energy, Shadella Inc. and M. Metal&Co shares a 41.57% stake of Shargunugol.

"Uzbekistan Today"