Tajik president links country's future to hydropower
DUSHANBE. Aug 14 (Interfax) - Tajik President Emomali Rahmon expressed an interest in bringing to an end the suspension of the Soviet project, 3,600-megawatt Rogun hydropower plant, for the first time in years. Rogun is bound to be the largest electric power generator in the region.
"The Rogun HPP will provide energy independence for the country," the president said on Wednesday in Nurek, the location of Tajikistan's largest hydropower plant (a 3,000-megawatt generating facility).
The presidential press service released the text of Rahmon's address to city residents and HPP personnel.
Construction of the Rogun HPP began in 1976 and was put on hold in 1991 after the breakup of the former Soviet Union. Tajikistan enforced "a people's IPO" in January 2010 and all workers of the country were paid a portion of their salaries in Rogun HPP shares. Slightly less than $170 million were raised across the country, which was a lot for Tajikistan with the average monthly salaries of $100.
Tajikistan's neighbor, Uzbekistan, fears that the construction of large hydropower plants in the upper reaches of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan may reduce their flow and have an extremely negative effect on farming, particularly on cotton growing. Uzbekistan is the sixth largest cotton producer in the world. Tajikistan agreed to hold an independent examination, which is taking place under the supervision of the World Bank. Construction works were suspended for the examination period.
"No matter who takes the office, further development of Tajikistan will depend on the hydropower industry," Rahmon emphasized.
The Tajik Finance Ministry estimated the Rogun HPP construction costs to be $2.2 billion, including $590 million required for the startup of the first two units (the power plant has six units, in all). Presumably, the Rogun HPP will not only rid Tajikistan of the electric power deficit but will also make it a large regional electricity exporter.