Uzbekistan is opening a new chapter in its circular economy drive as South Korean company Green Hammer Co., Ltd commits to build a waste to energy plant in Khorezm region, backed by an investment package of about one hundred million US dollars and long term state guarantees.[3][6][14]
New Korean backed plant anchors Khorezm eco industrial zone
The presidential resolution of 14 September clears the way for a high capacity plant that will thermally process around eight hundred tons of solid household waste per day and generate approximately seventy one million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, turning a persistent environmental burden into a new energy source for the regional grid.[3][6][14]
The project will be implemented between 2026 and 2028 on a fifteen hectare site in Urgench district, where authorities plan to develop an eco industrial zone focused on waste treatment and recycling, positioning Khorezm as one of Uzbekistan’s emerging hubs for green industrial infrastructure.[6][14]
An investment agreement between Green Hammer and the government, represented by the Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade, was signed on 14 September 2026, while earlier agreements with Uzenergosotish JSC for electricity offtake and the Waste Management and Circular Economy Development Agency for long term waste supply were concluded on 11 September, each with a thirty year horizon to stabilize project revenues and feedstock.[1][6][12]
Regulatory incentives and financial flexibility for foreign investors
To implement the project, Green Hammer will establish a foreign invested project company in Uzbekistan, which will enjoy enhanced financial freedoms — including the right to open accounts in foreign banks, receive and deploy international loans and foreign currency funds, and pay overseas contractors, suppliers and lenders directly without routing payments through domestic bank accounts.[3][6][12]
These exemptions from standard currency control and payment procedures are designed to reduce transaction friction for complex infrastructure projects, making Uzbekistan’s regulatory environment more familiar to international investors and easing participation by global engineering, construction and equipment suppliers.[3][6][12]
At the same time, guaranteed offtake of all electricity produced by Uzenergosotish over thirty years, combined with an obligation by the waste management agency to supply the required volumes of solid household waste for the same period, significantly lowers market risk and supports bankability for long term project finance structures.[1][6][14]
Earlier Korean project highlights execution challenges
The Khorezm initiative is not Uzbekistan’s first attempt to bring Korean capital into waste to energy. Back in 2018, Sejin G&E Co., Ltd from South Korea received approval to create a foreign enterprise in Tashkent region and attract fifty five million US dollars in direct investment to install twelve generators and auxiliary equipment that would produce electricity from landfill gas methane at the Ahangaran and Maydontol municipal waste sites, with a planned capacity of at least sixteen megawatts.
Although a foundation laying ceremony for Sejin’s complex took place in January 2023 with the participation of a high level Korean environmental delegation, local reporting indicated that practical construction work did not move forward for more than four years, with negotiations continuing through 2020, 2021 and 2022 and public statements in 2024 still referring to the investment in the future tense.
Reasons for the delay have not been disclosed in open sources, and the mixed experience serves as a reminder to new entrants that while Uzbekistan is actively opening its doors to foreign infrastructure investors, execution timelines can be affected by permitting, financing and institutional capacity constraints that must be factored into risk assessments.
Uzbekistan scales a nationwide waste to energy network
The Green Hammer project is part of a broader national program under which Uzbekistan plans to implement eleven waste to energy projects with a combined investment volume of around one billion five hundred and sixty million US dollars.[15]
Six projects involving Chinese companies, with a total value of about nine hundred and thirty three million US dollars, are planned across Kashkadarya, Samarkand, Tashkent, Andijan, Fergana and Namangan regions, while five additional projects worth roughly six hundred and twenty five million US dollars are being prepared with partners from Singapore, South Korea and China in Karakalpakstan, Jizzak, Surkhandarya, Bukhara and Khorezm.[11][15]
Once fully operational, these enterprises are expected to process around five and a half million tons of solid household waste annually and produce approximately two billion two hundred and thirty five million kilowatt hours of electricity, significantly expanding the country’s energy mix and reducing pressure on traditional generation assets.[11][15]
The first plants under this program are scheduled to be commissioned as early as 2026, building on momentum from Uzbekistan’s initial waste to energy facilities, including a Tashkent plant launched in September 2025 that produces thermal energy by incinerating medical waste.[11]
These investments respond to a pressing environmental backdrop: Uzbekistan generates around fourteen million tons of waste every year, yet only a small share is currently processed, while millions of tons of greenhouse gases and tens of thousands of tons of toxic filtrates are released into the atmosphere and soil from landfills, creating both ecological challenges and an urgent economic case for modern treatment infrastructure.
Why this matters for international construction and interior focused businesses
For international companies in construction, architecture, furniture and interior manufacturing, the Khorezm project and the wider waste to energy program signal that Uzbekistan is serious about building new industrial ecosystems powered by more reliable and diversified energy sources, with dedicated eco industrial zones that will need modern buildings, efficient logistics, and durable fit outs.
The combination of long term power purchase agreements, flexible cross border financial rules for project companies, and a clear government push to attract Korean, Chinese and Singaporean partners creates openings for global players to supply design, engineering, construction services, industrial equipment, and high quality interior and exterior solutions to new plants, administrative complexes and adjacent business facilities.
Even where projects are not directly linked to furniture or home appliances, the expansion of waste to energy capacity and eco industrial zones strengthens Uzbekistan’s broader investment climate and urban development agenda, supporting the emergence of new commercial districts and manufacturing clusters that will demand contemporary architectural concepts, sustainable materials and advanced interior design — a promising landscape for international brands considering entry or expansion in Central Asia.
