TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, November 27. The World Bank (WB) has assessed the volume of investments in Uzbekistan’s irrigation and drainage infrastructure transformation at $8.7 billion through 2030, Trend reports.
As per WB’s latest country outlook, aging irrigation and drainage infrastructure puts pressure on both Uzbek surface water and groundwater resources, as well as on land resources.
“More than 500,000 hectares of land is already water-logged and salinized due to poor irrigation practices and outdated drainage systems. In a moderate spending scenario with the objectives of avoiding further deterioration of irrigation and drainage infrastructure and promoting modernization, total investment needs are projected at about $6 billion through 2030”, the report says.
The WB noted that an additional $1.5 billion in on-farm investments would be needed for improved water management practices to increase water-use efficiency, bringing baseline investment costs to $7.5 billion.
“An estimated additional $1.2 billion would be needed to improve water-use efficiency to adapt to climate impacts, bringing the total capital costs of full modernization of the irrigation system through 2030 to $8.7 billion”, the bank’s analysts stressed.
The Bank believes that improvements in water management practices and monitoring systems will also be crucial for dealing with water shortage risks.
“Improved management practices include monitoring the water footprint of crops such as wheat and cotton across regions to promote production with optimal water efficiency. Increasing the productivity of water will require water metering and deployment of water-efficient technologies such as drip irrigation. Digitalization and water accounting systems at all scales will allow for monitoring water use and receiving dynamic feedback for adaptation of irrigation and drainage systems”, said the report.
Earlier this year, Uzbekistan and WB signed an agreement on the provision of financing in the amount of $46.2 million to reform the country’s energy sector.
The funds are said to be used to implement the project Innovative Carbon Financing for the Transformation of the Energy Sector of Uzbekistan (iCraft), aimed at producing clean energy, improving energy efficiency, and reforming energy subsidies.
