DUSHANBE, November 10, 2011, Asia-Plus — Barqi Tojik power holding (the state-run utility responsible for generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Tajikistan) considers that an opinion of Professor Alimkon Burhonov that Tajikistan must give up the construction of the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP) is erroneous.
“To tell the truth I do not know Professor Burhonov and I do not know his works,” said Nozirjon Yodgori, a spokesman for Barqi Tojik. “But when we have familiarized ourselves with his thoughts regarding the Roghun hydroelectricity project, we have known that he is dead wrong.”
“Professor Burhonov has not adduced any new arguments, he has just repeated statements of opponents of the Roghun project that we have heard for decades,” said Yodgori, “Such people are trying to impede economic development of our country.”
Professor Burhonov, in particular, says that the construction of the Roghun HPP takes too much time; this facility has been built since the Soviet era.
“Burhonov’s view that the Roghun dam poses danger and it is necessary to build small power plants is not new and opponents of Roghun’s construction have repeated these speculations for years,” said Yodgori. “Roghun must be built and we will build it.”
The Barqi Tojik spokesman noted that according to the data of the World Bank, Central Asia’s annual requirements in electricity will amount to 180 billion kWh in 10 years and 206 billion kWh in 15 years. “Tajikistan has reserves of water and power resources in the amount of 527billion kWh and it intends to gradually realize this potential,” he said, noting that Tajikistan may become the main electricity supplier in the region in the future.
The construction of the Roghun HPP was begun in 1980 during the Soviet Union era. According to the design, the Roghun HPP would have a reservoir with multi-year regulation mode with a dam height of 335 meters, located on the Vaksh River upstream of the existing Norak HPP cascade, to be realized in two stages. The reservoir would have a total storage volume of 13 km3; a live storage of 8.6 km3, and would likely extend upstream over a distance of about 70 km. The installed capacity is proposed to be 6×600 MW (totaling 3,600 MW) and the annual power generation would be 13,300 GWh. Despite significant storage, the Roghun HPP was expected to produce electricity in Tajikistan and develop irrigation in the region. Construction works were started during 1980-ies of the past century, but stalled about 15 years ago for lack of funds. Currently most of the site preparation works about 70% of the underground works (access tunnels, penstocks, diversion and outlet tunnels, chambers for turbines/generators and transformers) have reportedly been completed.
