DUSHANBE, March 10, 2010, Asia-Plus — Techno-economic and environmental and social studies for the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP) by the World Bank are a good initiative that will put an end to disputes between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on this subject, Sayfullo Safarov, deputy director of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Tajikistan, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
Safarov is sure that the World Bank will approach the issue of carrying out these assessment studies seriously. “It is necessary to enlist the services of independent experts to carry out these studies,” said the senior expert from Tajik think tank.
In the meantime, he noted that the construction pace should not be lowered irrespective of the findings of the studies. “If there are any technical faults, it will be necessary to remove them, but the construction of the station should not be stopped,” Safarov said.
He added there ought not to depict Uzbekistan as the enemy of the Roghun hydroelectricity project. “Uzbekistan has its own interests and Tajikistan has its own interests,” said the expert, “Tajikistan just has to prove that Uzbekistan’s warning is baseless.”
We will recall that Uzbek Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev in early February this year sent a letter to Tajik Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov warning Tajikistan of potential damage by the Roghun HPP to Central Asia”s frail environmental balance. Mirziyoyev said that in a region facing water shortages and prone to earthquakes, the giant power plant project could bring catastrophic consequences. Uzbek official called on Tajik authorities to conduct a thorough review of the Soviet-era project.
