UZBEKISTAN: Czech manufacturer Škoda Group has signed an agreement worth more than €120m covering the delivery of 10 electric multiple-units to Uzbekistan, reopening its push into the Central Asian rail market after an earlier 30-train deal failed to proceed.
The agreement, part of a wider package of bilateral deals agreed between the Czech Republic and Uzbekistan during a visit to Toshkent by Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, was signed at the Presidential Palace at the end of April in the presence of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov.
The 10 trains are expected to be based on Škoda’s next-generation RegioPanter platform already adapted for 1 520 mm gauge operation in Latvia and Estonia. The Czech manufacturer will also set up a local joint venture to provide maintenance, with the gradual transfer of know-how intended to let local partners service the trains themselves. A Škoda Academy will be established to train Uzbek staff.
The agreement brings Škoda back to an Uzbek order it had already won once before, admittedly at a reduced scale from the original 30 train order, but this time, with Czech and EU support behind the order. ‘This project is the result of long-term co-operation between the teams of the Uzbek and Czech governments, Uzbekistan Railways, and Škoda Group,’ said Petr Novotný, CEO of Škoda Group. He added that Škoda was ready to support Uzbekistan’s ‘ambitious plans for the modernisation of its transport infrastructure’ through ‘a long-term partnership.’
Reduced order, rebuilt backing
The smaller size of the new agreement follows Škoda’s failure to deliver on a much larger Uzbek order announced back in 2023. The Czech manufacturer had won the bid for 30 broad-gauge electric trains for Uzbekistan Railways, under a €320m contract with an option for as many as 100 units.
However, the deal failed to materialise. Production had been due to begin in 2024 at Škoda’s Ostrava site, with part of the assembly planned in Uzbekistan, but the project stalled before deliveries began.
In an interview republished by Škoda earlier this year, the company’s CEO confirmed that the project had collapsed over export financing, which he acknowledged had not been ideally prepared on Škoda’s side. ‘After two years of negotiations, we managed to combine EU and Czech support to present the government of Uzbekistan with a comprehensive offer,’ Novotný said.
New financing model
The new agreement comes back with 10 trains rather than 30, but with the financing support that was missing from the first attempt. EGAP, the Czech state export insurer, is now part of a package that also includes backing from the Czech government, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Investment Bank, giving Škoda an offer it can pitch against Chinese suppliers in Uzbekistan. The project has also received flagship status under the Commission’s Global Gateway programme.
The new deal, if all goes smoothly, will deepen Škoda’s position in a country it is now targeting as one of its key export markets outside Europe, with the company planning to use Uzbekistan as a hub for the wider Central Asian market.