DUSHANBE, October 24, 2008, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan is continuing negotiations on setting up an international consortium for completing construction of the Roghun hydroelectric power station (HPS), Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi remarked at a press conference in Dushanbe on October 24.
“The work in this direction is going on and negotiations are conducted with all countries interested in participation in this project,” minister said.
According to him, specialists from the World Bank completed the preliminary work and began practical negotiations with neighboring countries. “To date, they have conducted negotiations practically with all countries of the Central Asian region,” Zarifi said, adding that despite ongoing negotiations, the Tajik government has allocated funds for implementation of the Roghun hydroelectricity project.
“The government has already allocated funds for the project for the second half-year of 2008 and the first half-year of 2009 in order to continue construction of the station on its own,” the minister said.
On the possibility of participation of Russia in the Roghun hydroelectricity project, Zarifi noted that negotiations with the Russian side were going on and Tajikistan’s proposal to Russia for participation in the project remained valid. “We want Russia to participate in the project in the framework of international consortium,” he said.
