DUSHANBE, February 11, 2010, Asia-Plus — The government considered more than 15 issues, including activity of open joint-tock company (OJSC) NBO Roghun, at a February 10 meeting, presided over by President Emomali Rahmon.
According to presidential press service, top managers of NBO Roghun as well as local and foreign planning and construction companies involved in implementation of the Roghun hydroelectricity project reported on the results of work carried out by them in 2009.
The NBO Roghun director general Nourullo Shulashov, in particular, noted that 532.5 million somoni were spent last year for construction of the Roghun HPP. At present, up to 45 million somoni are being spent per month for construction of the Roghun HPP, Shulashov said, noting that 7,200 people, 630 machines and equipment as well as 59 companies and organizations have been involved in the project to this day.
Planning and construction companies, including 10 Russian companies, also reported o the result of work carried out by them last year.
Representatives of Interstroy (Akmal Usmonov), Moscow Gidroproekt Institute (Nikolai Kiselyov) and Russian Gidromontazh Company (Aleksei Prokopenko) expressed satisfaction with conditions of work and stressed that they planned to invite more skilled specialists from Russia for construction of the Roghun HPP.
Speaking at the meeting, President Emomali Rahmon focused on quality and the pace of construction of the Roghun HPP and urged to ensure targeted use of money allocated for construction of this facility.
The session also considered a number of other issues, including amendments to the country’s criminal and civil codes and a number of social and health care projects.
Besides, by government’s decree state unitary enterprise, Expedition for Prospecting for Radioactive Raw Materials, was established.
As it had been reported earlier, the government in 2009 allocated 533 million somoni for the Roghun hydroelectricity project and the country’s for 2010 earmarks 650 million somoni for the Roghun HPP. Under the country’s medium-term development program, 5.3 billion somoni will be allocated for the Roghun project in 2011-2013.
We will recall that Tajikistan in August 2007 formally revoked a contract with Russia”s RusAl aluminum company for the construction of the Roghun HPP. The Tajik government accused the company of failing to fulfill the contract signed in 2004. Tajik authorities and RusAl became bogged down in the hydroelectric plant”s dam model and height, crucial factors in its capacity. In April 2008, Tajikistan founded OJSC NBO Roghun with an authorized capital of 116 million somoni for completing the construction of the Roghun station.
On January 6 this year, the government started to sell shares in Roghun to people to raise funds to complete construction of the Roghun HPP. Tajikistan reportedly has issued 6 billion somoni (US$1.37 billion) worth of Roghun shares.
President Emomali Rahmon said at a January-29-30 cabinet meeting that he is dissatisfied with the slow sale of shares in the planned power plant and ordered the establishment of a commission made up of journalists, members of NGOs, and other non-government representatives to report every 10 days on the use of public money to construct the Roghun hydropower plant.
According to the Ministry of Finance (MoF), more than 692 million somoni (more than US$159 million) has been collected by the government in a month to February 6.
The 3,600 MWt Roghun hydroelectric power plant is to generate 13 billion kWh of electricity per year. The plant”s completion would substantially increase sales of electricity to neighboring Afghanistan, China, and Pakistan.
