DUSHANBE, October 16, 2010, Asia-Plus — The report released by some media that Uzbekistan has allegedly allowed stranded railroad cars carrying cargo for Roghun’s construction to move into Tajikistan does not correspondent to the facts, Vladimir Sobkalov, acting head of Tajik Railways, told Asia-Plus on Saturday.
According to him, nine freight cars that were recently allowed to move into Tajikistan did not carry cargo for Roghun’s construction. “They carried another cargo and employee, whom journalists cited, has been undergone medical treatment for a long time, and therefore, he could not be well informed about that,” Sobkalov stressed.
On October 15, a number of media reported that Uzbek authorities allowed the first ten freight cars carrying bitumen and other building materials for Roghun’s construction to move into Tajikistan on October14.
It is to be noted that all three international rail routes leading to Tajikistan (Sughd province, Dushanbe and Khatlon province) run via Uzbek territory and Tajik authorities say that since February, Uzbekistan has held up the transit of Tajikistan-bound rail cargo in retaliation for Dushanbe”s decision to construct the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP).
Uzbek authorities oppose the Roghun hydroelectricity project because of concerns it would receive less water from Tajikistan needed for agricultural purposes.
We will recall that the Tajik government has formally asked the OSCE send a fact-finding mission to look into a railroad dispute between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Delivering a statement at the Plenary Permanent Council Meeting in Vienna, Ambassador Nuriddin Shamsov, Head of Tajikistan’s Permanent Mission to the OSCE, noted on October 12 that Delegation of Tajikistan to the OSCE would like to draw the OSCE Permanent Council Meeting’s attention again to alarming situation with regard to continuation of Uzbekistan’s halting of freight cars bound for Tajikistan. He said some 884 freight cars carrying food, medication, building materials, and fuel are currently held up on Uzbek territory.
