DUSHANBE, April 2, 2009, Asia-Plus — Open joint-stock company (OJSC) Tojiktransgaz (Tajik state natural-gas distributor) intends to repay part of its debt to Uzbek natural-gas exporter, Uztransgaz, today. The Tojiktransgaz head Saidmahamd Sharofiddinov told Asia-Plus on Thursday.
According to him, it has become possible because Barqi Tojik (Tajik electric systems) power holding repaid part of its gas debt to Tojiktransgaz. Barqi owed more than 9 million US dollars to Tojiktransgaz and it has repaid 3 million dollars so far.
“Tojiktransgaz now owes some 15 million US dollars in arrears to Uzbekistan and if Barqi Tojik remits money today, our debt to Uztransgaz will reduce to 12 million dollars,” Sharofiddinov said.
On the Uzbek natural-gas deliveries to Tajikistan, the Tojiktransgaz head said Tajikistan currently received 24,000 cubic meters of Uzbek natural gas per hour.
Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service on March 5 cited Sharofiddinov as saying that Uzbekistan has been exporting only 50 percent of the gas Tajikistan needs this year because the debt is unpaid.
We will recall that an agreement between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan increased gas prices this year by $100 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, meaning Tajikistan is now paying $240.
