DUSHANBE, October 28, 2009, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan is constructing dams and power plants not in order to restrict neighbors’ water supply; on contrary, it takes into account their interests when constructing the hydropower facilities.
President Rahmon remarks this today while addressing builders at the site for construction of the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP).
“I stress once again that construction of the Roghun HPP should not be the cause for concern of the downstream countries,” Tajik leader noted.
According to him, when the Norak HPP was under construction in the Soviet time the question of construction of the Roghun HPP was put on an initiative of and with support from the then leaders of the common state and the republics of the region. “They hoped that construction of the Roghun HPP will allow developing more than 360,000 hectares of new lands and improving irrigation of more than 4.5 million hectares of lands in the region,’ Rahmon said.
He said that world experience has shown that reservoirs are an optimal option to solve the issue of providing stable water supply. “In this connection, we could provide an example of mutually beneficial use of the Norak reservoir during dry years of 200 and 2006 that met interests of the downstream countries,” Emomali Rahmon noted.
Reminding that more than 60 percent of water resources of the Aral Sea basin are formed in Tajikistan, while the country uses only 5 percent of this volume, the president noted, “The emerged situation demands taking joint, concerted and mutually beneficial measures to organize an efficient management of water resources in the region.”
“Increase in capacity of reservoirs in the upstream countries could be one of such measures, because they have favorable geographical conditions for this. The downstream countries could provide us assistance in this work, taking into account their interests,” stressed the Tajik leader, “As far as the rational use of water resources in the region is concerned, repeated proposals of Tajikistan regarding use of water resources of the Lake Sarez and creation of international consortium for construction of the Roghun HPP are the evidence of our good intentions.”
