DUSHANBE, March 19, 2014, Asia-Plus — Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has submitted a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the project aiming at upgrading the Golovnaya hydroelectric power plant (HPP) signed between the Government of Tajikistan and Asian Development (ADB) for ratification to Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament, Sharofiddin Sirojov, the member of the Majlisi Namoyandagon Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, told Asia-Plus Wednesday morning.
According to him, this document was signed in September last year. “Implementation of the project will start this year and it is expected to be finished in 2012,” Sirojov noted.
Tajik PM expressed confidence that the Majlisi Namoyandagon deputies will vote unanimously for ratification of the document.
On December 5, 2013, the ADB approved a $136 million grant, the largest single transaction ever provided by the institution to Tajikistan, for the project to refurbish electric and mechanical equipment for power generation and transmission at the Golovnaya HPP).
The plant is situated 80 kilometers south of the capital Dushanbe. Its installed generation capacity is 240 megawatts (MW), which makes it the fourth largest hydropower plant in the country. The construction of the Golovnaya HPP started in 1956, and the first unit was commissioned in 1962.
It is expected that after rehabilitation, which is due for completion in 2020, the generation capacity of the Golovnaya HPP will increase from 240 MW to 252 MW. On average, it will be able to produce 1,130 gigawatt-hours of electricity per annum from 743 gigawatt-hours generated in 2012.
The Government of Tajikistan will provide counterpart funding of $34 million. Barqi Tojik (state power utility) will be the executing agency for the project.
Tajikistan joined ADB in 1998 and, to date, the institution has approved total assistance of over $1.2 billion in concessional loans, grants, and technical assistance to the country. ADB’s operations benefit the population by reducing isolation, increasing communication, broadening access to electricity, improving social services, and creating more income-generating opportunities.
