DUSHANBE, May 5, Asia-Plus — On May 1, The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved a US$6.5 million grant for Tajikistan’s Energy Emergency Recovery Assistance Project, to be funded by the International Development Association, press release issued by the World Bank said.
The project will support the Government of Tajikistan in increasing, to the greatest extent possible, thermal and heat energy supply from existing facilities in the shortest possible time and initiating institutional and technical measures to increase the amount and reliability of energy supplied to the population during the next two winter seasons. The World Bank will also continue to provide technical assistance and policy advice to the Government, including advice on more efficient management of the country’s major Norak reservoir to avoid crises in the future.
This year, Tajikistan has seen its harshest winter in decades which led to major disruptions in the electricity supply systems and left mountain villages of Tajikistan in complete isolation and blackout. Water levels in the country’s major Norak Hydropower Plant reservoir, which normally accounts directly and indirectly for over 90 percent of the nation’s electricity supply, fell dramatically to dangerous levels. Sharp reduction in electricity generation led to the strict rationing of electricity supplies to the capital Dushanbe, while many rural districts had extremely limited electricity and water supplies. The effects of these conditions on vulnerable populations were particularly acute. On February 9, the Government of Tajikistan approved its Emergency Action Plan to mitigate the energy sector crisis in the country. Strict limits were imposed on water withdrawals from Norak Reservoir and measures taken to increase gas supplies and maintain the energy transmission network.
The project is expected to have positive impact on the medium to long term energy supply security, but it is unlikely to resolve all the energy problems the country is facing. “The country’s ability to stay the course on the reform of the energy sector, as well as its ability to attract international and private sector investments to develop its energy resources in an environmentally and socially responsible manner will be crucial for the country to turn the current threat of energy deficits into an opportunity over the medium and long term,” says Ms. Chiara Bronchi, the World Bank’s Country Manager in Dushanbe. “This project, which provides emergency assistance, also has elements that support the medium and long term actions, to which other World Bank projects and assistance programs are contributing.”
The World Bank’s mission in Tajikistan is to promote economic growth, reduce poverty, and encourage a better quality of life. The World Bank plays a role as the catalyst of change and an institution bringing global experience to developing countries. The country became a member of the World Bank on June 4, 1993. The financial assistance committed to Tajikistan so far amounts to nearly US$450 million, in the form of grants and concessional credits. The current portfolio of the World Bank in the country consists of 13 active projects. To date, the Bank has supported projects and carried out non-lending activities aimed at agriculture and rural development, health, education, social security, energy, water resources, infrastructure rehabilitation, and disaster management, among other things. World Bank assistance, in the form of soft loans, has helped the country rebuild the infrastructure destroyed during the civil war and has supported economic reforms.
