DUSHANBE, July 15, 2008, Asia-Plus – President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday signed a law on the settlement of Tajikistan’s debt to Russia by way of transferring the Nurek optical-electronic space control centre to Moscow and on investments in the Sangtudin hydropower plant.
Medvedev signed the law on the ratification of the inter-governmental agreement on the settlement of Tajikistan’s debt to Russia for state credits and the addendum to the agreement of December 9, 2002.
The agreement and the addendum provide for an early repayment of the debt by transferring control over the Nurek centre to Russia and investing the remaining part of the debt in the construction of Sangtudin Hydro Power Plant-1 in Tajikistan.
Power unit No. 2 at Sangtudin HPP-1, which is being built on the river Vakhsh with the participation of Russia, will begin generating electricity by the end of this, construction deputy chief Alexander Aldanov told Itar-Tass earlier, adding that a test start of the power unit was successfully carried out on Sunday.
The official commissioning of the second phase of the plant with the participation of the republic’s leadership is to be held approximately on July 2. Unified Energy System of Russia Board Chairman Anatoly Chubais, who was among those who launched this joint Russian-Tajik project, is also expected to attend the ceremony.
Aldanov recalled that power unit No. 1 was put into operation in January of this year, and the last, fourth, one is to be commissioned in early 2009. In his words, the builders may complete the construction in December, but there are problems with the supply of equipment.
The designed capacity of Sangtudin HPP-1 is 670 megawatt. Its four power units will be able to generate 1.2 billion kilowatt/hours annually.
The agreement was signed in Moscow on December 9, 2002. The addendum was signed on October 16, 2004. The documents implement the agreement reached in July 2004, under which Tajikistan pledged to transfer the ownership of Nurek to Russia and invest 50 million U.S. dollars against Russia’s stake in the Sangtudin HPP-1 project.
Tajikistan’s overall debt as of July 15, 2004 was 305,730,000 U.S. dollars. It will be repaid both by way of direct principal and interest payments and in the form of property by transferring the ownership of Nurek to Russia and 75 percent of shares in HPP-1 minus one.
The transfer of Nurek to Russia “allows Russia to more effectively monitor airspace for peaceful purposes, predicting possible acts of aggression, and making timely decisions on how to respond to missile threats”, State Duma Committee for the CIS and Relations with Compatriots chairman Alexei Ostrovsky said.
By acquiring controlling interest in Sangtudin HPP-1, Russia “consolidates its economic presence in Tajikistan, which is a beneficial investment”, he said.
The ratification of the agreement and the addendum to it “serves mutual political and economic interests and will facilitate friendly relations between the two countries”, Ostrovsky said.
Deputy Finance Minister Dmitry Pankin said these documents “aim to settle Tajikistan’s debt to Russia for state credits provided earlier and restructured by the Russian Federation”.
