DUSHANBE, March 14, 2011, Asia-Plus — The next Iran’s transport plane with equipment for the Sangtuda-2 hydroelectric power plant (HPP) on board is expected to arrive in Dushanbe this week, Said Askari, representative of Iran’s company, Sangab, in Tajikistan, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, the plane will carry 70 tons of equipment for the station. The main reason for the air shipments of the equipment is the acceleration of the pace of construction of the station, the Sangab manager noted.
It is to be noted that it will be already the third air shipment of the equipment for the Sangtuda-2 HPP.
75 tons of mainly electronic equipment to be used in the construction of the Sangtuda-2 HPP were flown into Dushanbe from Iran on December 27, 2010. Iranian Ambassador to Tajikistan Ali Asghar Sherdoust told reporters on the same day that the air shipments of the equipment are the only way to avoid postponing the completion of the project. He added that Iran had difficulty in 2010 transporting construction materials and equipment for Sangtuda-2 through Uzbekistan.
The second Iranian transport plane carrying equipment for the Sangtuda-2 HPP landed at the Dushanbe airport on March 9.
We will recall that at the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit in Istanbul in December 2010, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon promised that the first turbine at Sangtuda-2 will begin producing electricity in 2011.
Construction of Sangtuda-2, a 220-megawatt plant on the Vakhsh River, officially commenced in February 2006. It is located some 100 kilometers south of Dushanbe. Iran has invested US$180 million and Tajikistan US$40 million in the project. Once the power station is built, all the revenue over the next 12.5 years will go to the investor and Tajikistan will become the owner of Sangtuda-2 after this period expires.
