Tajikistan must repay a loan provided by the Export–Import Bank of China (China Exim Bank) Exim Bank for construction of two power transmission lines from Roghun hydropower plant to Dushanbe within twenty-five years.
Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament (Majlisi Oli) discussed this project on March 28.
China Exim Bank provided a US$79 million loan for construction of two 500KV power transmission lines from Roghun to Dushanbe.
An agreement on this subject was signed in September 2017. The loan carrying 1.5 percent interest was provided for twenty-five years. The project also included the construction of the “Dushanbe-500” substation.
China’s TBEA implemented the project and two 100-kilometer power transmission lines were introduced into operation in November last year.
Recall, the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP)’s first of six units was officially switched on November 16 last year.
However, the unit operation was temporarily suspended in early March this year. According to Barqi Tojik (Tajikistan’s power utility company), the unit operation was temporarily suspended for maintenance work.
The Export-Import Bank of China is one of three institutional banks in China chartered to implement the state policies in industry, foreign trade, diplomacy, economy, and provide policy financial support so as to promote the export of Chinese products and services. Established in 1994, the bank is subordinated to the State Council.
The focus of the bank is to promote foreign trade and investment. Exim Bank is not limited though to concessional funding and commercial operations form the backbone of the bank. Commercial activity includes export credits mainly in the infrastructure fields (roads, power plants, oil and gas pipelines, telecom, and water projects) and investment loans for Chinese businesses to establish overseas in the energy, mining and industrial sectors.
