It is Realistic to Launch Power Plant’s First Unit in Four Years – Tajik Leader

Excerpt from report by Russian state news agency ITAR-TASS

Dushanbe, 31 May: Tajik President Emomali Rahmon believes that it is quite realistic to commission the first unit of the Roghun hydroelectric power station, which is being built in the Pamir mountains, within four or four-and-a-half years. He visited the largest hydroelectric power station in Central Asia on 30 May.

The president said that the commissioning of the station’s two units out of the six ones would make it possible to produce up to 5bn kWh of electricity. Rahmon recalled that: “With the aim of stepping up the implementation of the Roghun project, the Tajik government with the help of the World Bank and a number of other international financial organizations has announced about the setting up of an international consortium, which will provide for the right to freely participate in financing construction for all local and foreign investors.”

The president announced about the allocation of nearly 33.8m dollars from the state budged this year for the Roghun project. He also promised to triple the amount in future. Meanwhile, he said that at least 890m dollars were needed for the launch of the first unit alone, while the project’s total cost was 1.2bn dollars.

None of the major investors have so far voiced their readiness to take part in the completion of the Roghun hydroelectric power station.

Rahmon once again called “on all patriots and honoured sons of the motherland to take an active part in the soonest completion of the construction of the first unit of the hydroelectric power station, and, as far as possible, to make their contribution to ensuring the country’s energy independence”.

The country’s all state radio and TV channels are today quoting him as saying this.

[Passage omitted: background on the project]

Originally published by ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0720 31 May 08.

(c) 2008 BBC Monitoring Central Asia. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.