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Project Name: Uzbekistan Drainage Project Phase – I Preparation Study
Country: UZBEKISTAN
Finance Source: World Bank
Partners: MOTT MACDONALD LIMITED (UNITED KINGDOM)
Tags: Uzbekistan, World Bank, Irrigation, Feasibility
The Government of Uzbekistan planned in 1990 constructing a main collector drain on the right bank of the Amu Darya for the purpose of collecting all excess drainage water and conveying it into the Aral Sea. About 10 percent of this Right Bank Collector Drain (RBCD) has been completed, but construction has stopped due to lack of funds. Government’s main objectives for the construction of the RBCD are to: improve drainage disposal conditions for some 1.0 million ha of irrigated lands; contain the mineralization of the Amu Darya water below 1 g/l (benefiting some 1.5 million ha of agricultural lands); and reduce the contamination of harmful substances in the Amu Darya water.
The overall objective of the assignment which is financed by The World Bank is to:
(i) develop short and long term solutions to the issue of drainage water disposal on the right bank of the Amu Darya in Uzbekistan in a cost-effective and environmentally sound manner, by assessing the present situation and studying all relevant alternatives to the RBCD; and
(ii) To identify a drainage disposal project for early implementation that is technically sound and economically justified, while minimizing or mitigating any adverse environmental or social impacts.
The work is to be carried out in three phases, in parallel and in coordination with the Environmental Study to be undertaken by the Environmental Consultant. In Phase I (6 months) following basic works for the Amu Darya basin in Uzbekistan have carried out:
(i) Collect data on water resources, irrigation water supply and drainage water discharge (in terms of quantity and quality), and the extent of drainage and salinity problems;
(ii) undertake a review of irrigation and drainage in the basin, focusing on relationships between irrigation water supply, agricultural water use, drainage processes, drainage water discharge, and land and water quality issues;
(iii) identify alternative solutions to the issue of drainage water disposal;
(iv) assistance to run workshops with participation of stakeholders to discuss the identified options; and
(v) determine additional data needed to study the options for drainage water disposal on a pre-feasibility study level.
