DUSHANBE, December 20, 2008, Asia-Plus — The Strategy for Regional Cooperation in the Energy Sector endorsed at the 7th Ministerial Conference under the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program in Baku is of significant importance for Tajikistan as its main principles are based on fair and rational use of natural resources, Deputy energy and Industries Minister, Poulod Muhiddinov, announced at a press conference in Dushanbe on December 19.
The press conference, hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Dushanbe Office, was devoted to the outcomes of the ADB CAREC Ministerial Conference that was held in Baku, Azerbaijan in late November.
The Strategy for Regional Cooperation in the Energy Sector aims to expand energy trade, improve energy efficiency and security, and identify mutually beneficial approaches to meet regional energy needs.
According to Muhiddinov, the most important thing that the sides endorsed cooperation “in the field of use of transborder waterway.” “Appropriate agreements between riverside counties give an opportunity to project and construct large hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) in the CARE Program member nations, including Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan,” said the deputy minister, “Such HPPs will generate electrical power mainly for recouping electricity shortages on domestic markets during winter months and exporting power surplus to other countries.”
On the construction of a 220 kilovolt transmission line that will link the hydropower stations on Tajikistan”s Vakhsh River to Afghanistan, Muhiddinov said that construction of the power grid would start in early 2009 and would be finished most likely by the end of 2010.
“We already concluded an agreement with Afghanistan, under which we will supply up to 300 megawatt of electricity to Afghanistan during summer period from 2010 to 2015,” he said, noting that electricity will be supplied to the neighboring country at the rate of 3.5 cents per 1 kWh with annual 0.2% rise in the price.
According to him, Tajikistan’s summer energy surplus is estimated at 1.5-2 billion kWh, while by 2010 it will exceed 2 billion kWh.
It is to be noted that the governments of Tajikistan and Afghanistan on August 29 this year signed a power purchase agreement under the Regional Power Transmission Interconnection Project that was approved by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in December 2006 to tap Tajikistan”s summer power surplus to meet shortfalls in neighboring Afghanistan.
Mr. Sharifkhon Samiyev, Chairman of Barqi Tojik Power Holding signed the agreement for Tajikistan, while Mr. Ghulam Rabbani, President of Afghanistan Electricity Enterprise DABM signed on behalf of Afghanistan. The signing took place in Dushanbe.
The project will construct a 220 kilovolt double circuit transmission line that will link the hydropower stations on Tajikistan”s Vakhsh River to the border town of Sherkan Bandar, then to Kunduz, Baglad, Pul-e Khumri and, ultimately, Kabul in Afghanistan.
The project will also include new investments and upgrading in Tajikistan that will help reduce the winter power deficit by boosting the available level of generation and decreasing technical losses in the south of the country resulting in an additional 320 gigawatt-hours annually.
The total net economic benefits of regional cooperation of the project are estimated to be $114 million, split fairly evenly between the two countries. ADB”s loans – $21.5 million to Tajikistan and $35 million to Afghanistan – come from its concessional Asian Development Fund and carry a 32 year term, including a grace period of 8 years. Interest on each is charged at 1% per annum during the grace period and 1.5% during the rest of the term. Other financiers of the project, which will cost an estimated $109.5 million, are the OPEC Fund for International Development, Islamic Development Bank, Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, and the Afghanistan and Tajikistan governments. Barqi Tojik in Tajikistan and the Ministry of Energy and Water in Afghanistan are the executing agencies for the project.
During the press conference, it was also noted that besides the Strategy for Regional Cooperation in the Energy Sector, the ADB CAREC Ministerial Conference in Baku had also endorsed a number of other documents.
The conference, in particular, endorsed the report of senior officials to the ministerial conference, which provides a detailed review of the Program’s progress and activities in 2008, implementation of the Action Plan for the transport and Trade Facilitation Strategy to accelerate development of the six CAREC transport and trade corridors, the Trade Policy Strategic Action Plan to achieve World Trade Organization membership for all CAREC countries and liberalize trade regimes to improve the investment climate across Central Asia, and the CAREC Institute Work Plan for 2009-2011 to provide training for government officials in areas related to regional economic cooperation and support research related to regional initiatives.
