Wilo Supports Sustainable Irrigation in Uzbekistan

"We have been active in Uzbekistan for 20 years and have around 50 employees in Central Asia”, says Georg Weber, CTO and member of the Wilo Group Executive Board. “We consciously increased our local commitment in 2019 by establishing a subsidiary. By collaborating in this project, we are resolutely following our region-for-region approach and showing once again how deeply sustainability is rooted in our corporate activities.”

As Uzbekistan is predominately agricultural, renewables are vital if water supply and disposal are to be both resource-efficient and sustainable. Due to the favourable geology and climate, irrigation technology based on renewables like solar power are an obvious alternative to fossil fuels. However, a large part of the population as well as farmers and water resource managers lack technical know-how regarding sustainable irrigation solutions and their economic and ecological advantages compared to conventional technology.

Wilo is thus deliberately supporting education and knowledge transfer between political decision-makers and farmers with this project. The goal: select pilot regions in Uzbekistan are to be equipped with solar-powered irrigation solutions by 2024 to ensure sustainable and resource-efficient water management. The Uzbekistani Water Resource Minister is supporting and promoting this collaborative project to ensure that the corresponding expertise will be internalised along the entire supply chain over the long term.

Weber summarizes why the knowledge transfer is important: “Modern technical solutions can make access to clean drinking and industrial water easier for both people in Uzbekistan and around the world. This is possible in an intelligent, efficient and climate-friendly manner.”

develoPPP is a subsidy programme of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is directed at companies that want to make a sustainable investment in developing or emerging countries and expand their operational activities there. Within the framework of the programme, projects are supported both with expertise and funding, totalling up to 2 million euros.