China Says Tajik Power Plant Project to Go Ahead

Excerpt from report by Russian news agency Regnum

“The Zarafshon hydroelectric power station will be built,” the new Chinese ambassador to Tajikistan, Zuo Xueliang, said at a meeting with journalists today, 6 June, following a ceremony to present his credentials to the Tajik president, a Regnum news agency correspondent reports.

He said the project is at the stage of consideration and the process has some complications, but they should be resolved. “After that, we will begin to construct this station,” the ambassador added.

[Passage omitted: background information on an agreement between China and Tajikistan to build the power station]

Nevertheless, the Chinese ambassador to Tajikistan did not specify the cause of the complications that emerged in the process of the implementation of this project. However, informed sources at the Barq-i Tojik (Tajik electricity) open joint-stock holding company say Uzbekistan, as a neighbouring state, has sent a note of protest to Tajikistan over its intention to start the construction of the hydroelectric power station on the River Zarafshon.

In the view of the Uzbek authorities, the construction of the hydroelectric power station on the River Zarafshon will lead to deterioration of the irrigation system in four Uzbek regions. Therefore, the Uzbek authorities demand the project be abandoned.

[Passage omitted: the Tajiks say Uzbekistan's concern is unfounded and is confident that the matter will be resolved]

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Central Asia. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.