Sangtuda-1 HPP among top three tax debtors in Tajikistan
DUSHANBE. July 23 (Interfax) - The Sangtuda-1 Hydropower Plant (HPP) in Tajikistan entered the top three tax debtors, because Tajik state energy company Barqi Tojik owed 16.6 times the plant's tax debt for power supplies, according to the press service of the Tajik-Russian company, which is controlled by Russian shareholders.
The tax debt that Sangtuda-1 HPP has to pay at order of the Tax Committee of the Republic of Tajikistan, accounts for 29.9 million somoni ($4.8 million), while Barqi Tojik has yet to pay to the company a sum of 497 million somoni ($79.4 million), the press service said. .
"Sangtuda-1 HPP is interested in a complete settlement of debt. But it all depends on payment on the part of Barqi Tojik for power energy supplied during the past years," the press service said citing the company's CEO Pavel Lavrov.
Notably, among the other top tax debtors in Tajikistan is Barqi Tojik, which owes the state 147.1 million somoni ($23.5 miln), as well as Talco, a Tajik state-owned aluminum company - the biggest electricity consumer in the country. Its tax debt reached 40.6 mln somoni ($6.5 mln).
"Considering that Sangtuda-1 HPP is the largest investment project of Russia in Tajikistan and a bright illustration of co-operation between our fraternal nations, we are sure that issues critical for secure and effective performance of the power plant, will be resolved in a practical and reciprocally beneficial way," Lavrov said.
Sangtuda-1 HPP operates a power plant with capacity of 670 megawatts and annual output of 2.7 billion kWh. It generates 15% of the total power energy in the country. Currently, Tajikistan owns 25% plus one share in the project. All other shares in OJSC Sangtuda-1 HPP - it was incorporated in February 2005 in order to build the hydropower plant - are distributed as follows: State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom has 60.13% minus one share, and Joint Stock Company Inter RAO UES has the remaining 14.87%.
In November 2014, Barqi Tojik CEO Rustam Rakhmatzoda said the company would have paid the debt owed to Sangtuda-1 HPP by January 1, 2016.