The Board approved on 28 September the $200 million policy-based loan that will strengthen the power sector in Uzbekistan. The Power Sector Reform Program will improve the financial sustainability of the sector, will help create an environment conducive to sustained investments, particularly from the private sector, and improve the regulatory environment that promotes transparency, fairness, and competition. This support marks a milestone for Uzbekistan and ADB for being a first in the country. The policy actions identified in the program are critical in terms of implementing the complex reforms needed to further engender private investment, support economic development, and improve the lives of the people. At the crux of the reforms is the country’s effort to transition to clean energy through scaling-up the development of modern and reliable energy infrastructure that will curb the increase of greenhouse gas emissions. And on 30 September, the $110 grant was also approved to enhance the transmission network in Afghanistan that will help secure the country’s energy supply as well as facilitate energy trade between Afghanistan and its neighbors. The project which is part of ADB’s $1.2 billion support under the Energy Supply Improvement Investment Program (2015-2024) will finance the construction of 201 kilometers of 500-kilovolt overhead transmission line from the Surkhan substation in Uzbekistan to the Khwaja-Alwan substation in Afghanistan – a critical interconnection node for the transmission of power from Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The network will the transmission of power from Uzbekistan to the Afghan grid on the basis of a 10-year power purchase and sales agreement signed by the Afghanistan and Uzbekistan governments in August 2020.