Tajik parliament speaker says an achievement of accord between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on the Farhod hydroelectric power plant (HPP) is an impotent strategic step.
Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament (Majlisi Oli) has unanimously ratified a government-to-government agreement on providing operation of the Farhod dam.
A regular sitting of the Majlisi Namoyandagon, presided over by its head, Shukurjon Zuhurov, took place on April 25.
Addressing lawmakers, Shukurjon Zuhurov noted that the agreement had put an end to one of the most urgent problems in relationships between official Dushanbe and Tashkent.
“This facility remains of significant importance to both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The Farhod reservoir is used for irrigation of more than 45,000 hectares of lands in northern Tajikistan and more than 330,000 hectares of lands in Uzbekistan,” Tajik parliament speaker noted.
First Deputy Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Sulton Rahimzoda, said that under the accord, Uzbekistan will maintain and finance the Farhod hydropower plant while Tajikistan will provide protection of the facility.
Recall, during a visit of Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov to Dushanbe that took place on January 10 this year, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reached an agreement regarding the disputed dam of the Soviet-era Farhod hydropower station along the border. Some sources said that under the accord, the land on which the station stands will be Tajik property, while the hydropower plant itself — including its equipment and infrastructure — will be owned by Uzbekistan.
