KHUJAND, April 21, 2009, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan has fulfilled its obligations on an interstate treaty and the Qairoqqum reservoir in the Sughd province is made ready to provide neighboring countries with water in normal regime, the Qairoqqum power plant director Fayzullo Avezov said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, they have saved enough water for the agricultural needs of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. “Current volume of water at the Qairoqqum reservoir is 3.5 billion cubic meters, while under the interstate treaty, this volume is planned to be reached by May 30, 2009,” said Avezov, “For its part, Uzbekistan has fulfilled its obligations and provided the Sughd province with electrical power when the Qairoqqum plant was not in operation.”
Avezov said the Qairoqqum reservoir should provide water supplies for irrigation of more than 300,000 hectares of cotton fields in Uzbekistan and 80,000 hectares of rice fields in Kazakhstan. “The fifth of six units of the Qairoqqum plant is expected to be reintroduced into operation today,” the plant director said, noting that four units of the plant currently generate 2 million kWh of electricity per date.
In the meantime, the source at the branch of Barqi Tojik power holding in Khujand said that the province yesterday received 8.2 million kWh of electric power and 25 percent of this volume of electricity was generated by the Qairoqqum plant.
We will recall that in early March the Qairoqqum plant was operating with only two of its six units. Avezov told Asia-Plus on March 10 that using only two units helps Tajikistan save water for the agricultural needs of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
