Tajikistan’s budget for 2023 projects expenditure of 2.347 billion somonis (equivalent to 230 million U.S. dollars) for payment of external debt, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) Secretariat.
This amount reportedly includes about 1.350 billion somonis allocated for these purposes from the current expenditures of the republican budget and more than 997 million somonis allocated by repaying the principal and interest on sub-loan agreements.
Debts on sub-loan agreements will be paid by the following organizations: Barqi Tojik (Tajikistan’s national power utility company) – 938.5 million somonis; the State Unitary Enterprise (SUE) Obu Korezi Dushanbe (municipal waterworks) – 15.5 million somonis; Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) Tajiktransgaz (state-controlled natural gas distributor) – 7.6 million somonis; OJSC Pamir Energy – 11.5 million somonis; OJSC Dushanbe International Airport – 24.2 million somonis.
It is to be noted that Barqi Tojik’s debt on sub-loan agreements has amounted to 23.6 billion somonis as of July 1, 2022. These arrears have been formed due to the implementation of investment projects in the country’s energy sector (rehabilitation of hydropower plants, construction power transmission lines, substations and so forth).
Over the first three quarters of this year, the government of Tajikistan has managed to reduce the volume of the country’s external debt by 29.5 million U.S. dollars. Tajikistan’s external debt has amounted to 3.2142 billion U.S. dollars as of October 1, 2022 (as of January 1 this year, Tajikistan’s external debt reportedly amounted to 3.2437 billion U.S. dollars).
Government borrowing, which ensures the performance of public services, reportedly accounted for about 95.5 percent of the country’s external debt – 3.0691 billion U.S. dollars.
Debts raised by individual institutions, organizations, companies under the state guarantee have reportedly amounted to 144.7 million U.S. dollars
Debts with a state guarantee in the structure of external debt have amounted to 96.3 million U.S. dollars.
The debt of the National Bank of Tajikistan to the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has amounted to 0.4 million U.S. dollars.