KHOROG, July 19, 2008, Asia-Plus — A small hydropower plant Bardara was put into commission in the village of Bardara in the Bartang Valley, GBAO’s Rushan district on July 18.
The plant has been constructed under financial support of the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF).
Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, Khujamiyor Khumorikov, engineer-manager with AKF’s Mountain Societies Development Support Program (MSDSP), said that the power plant Bardara with the rated capacity of 160 kW had been constructed in two years, and $87,000, including $7,000 contribution of local residents, had been spent for construction of the station.
Resident of the Bardara village, Sultonsho Mamadbekov, noted that the plant will allow using electrical power not only for lightening residential buildings, cooking and tackling other everyday problems but also watching TV.
According to Khumorikov, Bardara is the eighth small power plant built by MSDSP in the Bartang Valley.
“In all, with direct participation of our program and contributions of local residents and under financial support of international organizations 29 small power plants with different rated capacities, ranging from 30 to 300 kW, have been constructed in Gorno Badakhshan since 1997,” Khumorikov said, noting that a total capacity of those 29 plants is some 2,500 kW. “They provide electricity supplies to more than 30 villages; besides, we have constructed some 30 kilometers of electricity-transmission lines,” the engineer-manager said.
A ceremony of putting the Bardara plant into commission was attended by Minister of Energy and Industries Sherali Gul, Resident Representative of the Aga Development Network (AKDN) in Tajikistan Munir Merali, and CEO of AKF Tajikistan Yodgor Fayzov.
