DUSHANBE, February 2, Asia-Plus — On February 1, visiting representatives from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) met here with senior representatives from the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI) to discuss the possibility of funding projects for shifting Tajik heat and power plants working on natural gas and fuel oil to coal, the source at a MoEI told Asia-Plus on Friday.
According to him, the USTDA specialists “are currently considering all variants and familiarizing themselves with state local coalfields.” “After that, the USTDA will consider the issue of providing a grant for conducting feasibility study for shifting the country’s heat and power plants to coal and reconstructing them, “ the source said.
At present there are three heat and power plants in Tajikistan: the Dushanbe plant with rated capacity of 198 megawatt; the Yovon plant (120 megawatt): and the Chkalosk plant (6 megawatt).
According to specialists, Tajikistan now has more than 36 coal deposits with the possible coal reserves of totaling some 5 billion tons. In the Soviet time, Tajikistan had produced some 600,000-700,000 tons of coals and the country’s annual requirements in coal had been 1.5 million tons.
Experts say that the power and heat plants as well as boiler-houses in settlements may need to be shifted from natural gas to coal.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) advances economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle income countries. The agency funds various forms of technical assistance, early investment analysis, training, orientation visits and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment.
USTDA”s strategic use of foreign assistance funds to support sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries creates an enabling environment for trade, investment and sustainable economic development. Operating at the nexus of foreign policy and commerce, USTDA is uniquely positioned to work with U.S. firms and host countries in achieving the agency”s trade and development goals. In carrying out its mission, USTDA gives emphasis to economic sectors that may benefit from U.S. exports of goods and services.
