DUSHANBE, February 21, 2009, Asia-Plus — On Friday February 20, the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI) and China’s Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock Co., Ltd. (TBEA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on energy cooperation in Dushanbe, according to a MoEI.
The document was inked by Energy and Industries Minister Sherali Gul and Chairman of the TBEA Board of Directors Chzhan Sin (phonetically spelled).
Under the memorandum, the Chinese company will construct a 200-MW heat and power station in Dushanbe that will run on coal and a 200-MW hydropower plant Nourobod-1 on the Khingob River as well as rehabilitate a transformer-producing plant in Qurghon Teppa.
The estimated budget for construction of the heat and power station in Dushanbe is 30 million US dollars and it will be finished in 20 months.
The MoEI source noted that the Chinese side would implement those projects in exchange for one of Tajik deposits. The source refrained from saying what deposit China wants to explore and develop in Tajikistan. He just added, “Most likely, the Rangkul ore deposit located in Gorno Badakhshan will be offered to China for exploration.”
We will recall that TBEA has been granted contracts to build high-voltage power grids in Tajikistan, including a 500-kW 350-kilometer electricity transmission line South-North linking power systems of Tajik southern and northern regions and a 220-kW 93-kilometer line Khatlon-Lolazor in the Khatlon province. Construction of the South-North power grid that will be capable to transmit up to 8 billion kWh of electrical power per year began in September 2006 and is scheduled to be finished in 2010.
