Navigating the Storm: Acwa’s Sirdarya Dilemma

Prabha Kiran, Rajan Shah, Nastarin Mahmudova, Rajani Ramdas

Product #:W49953

Supplier:Ivey

Discipline:General Management, International Business

Setting:Uzbekistan, 2022

Details:Case (PDF) • 13 pages • 2026-07-10

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In early 2022, geopolitical risks disrupted Saudi Arabia-based Acwa Power Company’s flagship 1,500 MW Sirdarya Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Project in Uzbekistan. Two 530-ton gas turbines were en route when Hiscox Inc. withdrew war-risk coverage due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Without insurance, lenders blocked shipment, risking project deadlines and a USD 1.2 billion financial model. Management faced three options: suspend logistics and endure penalties; proceed uninsured and breach covenants; or redesign the supply chain through longer, costlier routes requiring rapid negotiations with insurers and stakeholders. Each choice affected liquidity, compliance, confidence, and reputation, posing a dilemma between urgent operations and long-term credibility.

Learning Objectives

This case is designed for graduate, master of business administration (MBA), executive, and advanced undergraduate courses, particularly in the following areas: Negotiation and conflict management, project and contract management, risk management in emerging markets, and crisis leadership and stakeholder strategy. It is particularly suitable for teaching that geopolitical disruptions can trigger cascading risks: from logistics and insurance to lender confidence and project viability, and that resolving such crises often depends more on negotiation architecture than technical analysis alone. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:

Analyze and negotiate risk allocation in a high-stakes, multi-party crisis by applying concepts such as BATNA, stakeholder sequencing, and interest-based negotiation under conditions of uncertainty and time pressure.
Evaluate how geopolitical disruptions cascade into operational, financing, and contractual failures within large infrastructure and project-finance environments.
Examine how “hidden options” and non-market solutions emerge through stakeholder dialogue when formal contracts, insurance mechanisms, and conventional market arrangements break down.

Navigating the Storm: Acwa’s Sirdarya Dilemma

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Learning Objectives