DUSHANBE, April 13, 2009, Asia-Plus — An official opening of the Sangtuda-1 hydroelectric power plant (HPP) is scheduled for May 15 and President Emomali Rahmon and his Russian counterpart, President Dmitry Medvedev, are expected to attend the ceremony.
According to the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI), the date of the official opening of the station was set at a meeting of the commission for completion of construction of the Sangtuda-1 HPP that was held at the station site on April 10.
The date of introduction of the station’s fourth unit into operation and final terms of turning over the station to consumer in a ready to use condition were among major topics of the meeting, presided over by Yuri Sharov, member of the board of Russia’s Inter RAO YeES. Deputy Prime Minister, Asadullo Ghulomov, senior representatives from a MoEI, Barqi Tojik power holding and Russia’s Silovye Mashiny attended the meeting. The meeting also considered issues related to settlement of Barqi Tojik’s debt to open joint-stock company (OJSC) Sangtuda HPP-1, the source said.
The first unit of the Russian-built Sangtuda-1 station was introduced into operation on January 20, 2008. The second and the third units of the plant were also introduced into operation last year — on July 1 and November 6 respectively.
The construction of the Sangtuda-1 hydropower plant located some 110 kilometers southeast of Dushanbe began in the late 1980s. By the early 1990s, only 20% of the construction work had been completed, and further construction was suspended due to a civil war that broke out in Tajikistan in the early 1990s. The talks between Russia and Tajikistan on completing the construction of the Sangtuda-1 HPP began in 2003 and in 2004 the parties signed an inter-governmental agreement.
Russia retains a 75 percent share in the power plant, which will generate a projected 2.7 billion kWh of electricity per annum. The power station will have an estimated capacity of 670 MW.
