DUSHANBE, October 16, Asia-Plus – Rates of the fixed-line network are expected to remain the same through the end of the year, Minister of Communications Said Zuvaydov announced at news conference in Dushanbe on October 16
According to him, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in October 2001 provided a loan to Tajik Telecom, the national fixed-line operator, to modernize the country’s fixed-line network.
A Euro 14 million loan has financed the modernization of the country”s fixed-line network. Switzerland has co-financed the project with Euro 2.2 million grant. Technical assistance in a form of grants from Japan has been provided to develop the sector”s legal and regulatory framework.
The EBRD loan is supported by a sovereign guarantee from Tajikistan and has been used to make urgent investments in new digital infrastructure, equipment for the widespread application of per-minute call charging, new international connections and improvements in power supply arrangements in rural areas. These investments are bringing an improvement in the quality of service and increasing access to services for both business and the general population.
“Under an agreement with the EBRD we have to quarterly raise prices of the rendered services,” said the minister, “At present a per-minute call should be charged at the rate of 0.046 somoni per minute while we have still retained the rate of 0.02 somoni per minute.”
According to him, this rate is still suitable for the ministry. At the same time he noted that they will review the rates next year and everything depends on the profit the ministry will gain. “If revenues cover expenditures, the rate may possibly remain the same,” Zuvaydov said.
The minister noted that the public and organizations now owe more than 12.8 million somonis to the ministry for the fixed-line telecommunications. The most incorrigible nonpayers are the ministry of defense with its debt of some 2 million somonis and the administration of the northern province of Sughd with its debt totaling some 200,000 somonis.
