DUSHANBE, August 12, 2013, Asia-Plus — The Permanent Representative of the Republic of Tajikistan to the United Nations, Ambassador Sirojiddin Aslov, believes that the issue of the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP) will be raised at the High-level International Conference on Water Cooperation that is expected to take place in Dushanbe from August 20-22.
“The point is that as matter of fact the Roghun HPP is not an international problem. It is purely an inter-state problem, because one of downstream countries strongly opposes the Roghun hydroelectricity project,” Ambassador Aslov told UN Radio in an interview.
He reportedly expressed confidence that this case will be given as example at various sessions.
The 3,600 MWt Roghun hydroelectric power plant is to generate 13 billion kWh of electricity per year. The plant”s completion would substantially increase sales of electricity to neighboring Afghanistan, China, and Pakistan.
More than 1000 delegates from 100 member nations of the United Nations are expected to attend the High-level International Conference on Water Cooperation in Dushanbe.
The Conference that is scheduled for August 20-22 reportedly aims to spur water cooperation, in particular at trans-boundary level, through the promotion of successful policies and best practices, wider public participation, and the encouragement of policy makers to support water cooperation at all levels to achieve internationally agreed goals on water. The Conference also gives an opportunity to discuss and develop new measures to accelerate the efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and recommendations for further actions after 2015, including contribution to the development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to water.
