K-water Secures Water Management Consulting Project in Uzbekistan with World Bank

Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-water) announced on Aug. 29 that it has been awarded a new consulting project worth $400,000 (approximately 560 million won) by the World Bank to enhance the capacity of Uzbekistan’s water and sewerage corporation.

Uzbekistan has been continuously expanding its water infrastructure construction and development, necessitating the cultivation of professional personnel for the stable operation of major infrastructure facilities.

In response, K-water has been collaborating with the World Bank since 2022, presenting a “Basic Plan for Establishing a Water Education Institution in Uzbekistan” and consistently providing local expert training programs.

This project is a consulting initiative developed based on the close cooperative relationships established with local water management institutions in Uzbekistan and the solid trust and achievements built with the World Bank.

Starting from September, over a 17-month period, K-water will provide cooperation programs for Uzbekistan’s water and sewerage corporation (Uzsuvtaminot), including development of educational modules and establishment of mid-term capacity building plans, mentoring programs for young professionals and personnel exchanges, and support for local expansion of domestic private companies.

K-water plans to use this project as an opportunity to expand its unique education and consulting model and digital water management know-how throughout Central Asia.

In particular, the World Bank highly values the performance of the capacity building model being applied in Uzbekistan. Together with K-water, it is also designing a joint consulting project worth $1.5 million (approximately 2 billion won) to expand these achievements to five Central Asian countries (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan) including Uzbekistan.

In this regard, K-water will share successful cases of specialized capacity building consulting and lay the groundwork for expansion into Central Asia at the international conference “Central Asia Water Utilities Conference” to be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in October, together with the World Bank and Central Asian water management institutions.

Ko Young-gong, head of K-water’s Human Resources Development Institute, stated, “This project marks a turning point where K-water’s water management capacity building know-how, proven in Uzbekistan, is spreading throughout Central Asia,” adding, “It is significant in that we are exporting our water management knowledge and know-how beyond products or infrastructure construction.”

Meanwhile, K-water has been supporting consulting for the modernization of water and sewerage facilities in Western Uzbekistan jointly with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) since 2020, and is also strengthening efforts to expand infrastructure projects targeting Central Asian countries, such as establishing cooperation systems with multilateral development banks (MDBs) and local government agencies.