Cengiz Energy and Yıldırım Energy, Turkey's two leading energy holdings, have inked deals to establish two natural gas combined-cycle power plants in Uzbekistan.

A statement from Uzbekistan's Ministry of Energy noted that following a meeting between Cengiz Energy Chairman Mehmet Cengiz and Uzbekistan Energy Minister Alisher Sultanov, an agreement was signed to build a 240-megawatt capacity natural gas combined-cycle power plant in Bukhara through the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Meanwhile, Yıldırım Energy officials held talks at the Uzbekistan Ministry of Energy, followed by the signing of a preliminary agreement for a 900-megawatt capacity natural gas combined-cycle power plant to be built in the Surxondaryo region, the statement added.

This deal was signed by First Deputy Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan Corabek Mirzamahmudov and Yıldırım Energy Holding CEO Mustafa Kurnaz.

In Uzbekistan, an average of 55 billion kWh of electricity is generated annually in power plants, some of which are quite old.

The country's investment program for this year foresees implementing 33 projects with a total project amount of $8.1 billion allocated to the electricity sector.