DUSHANBE, June 25, 2012, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan will not block the Vakhsh River this year to build the dam for the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP), an official source at the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI) told Asia-Plus today.
According to him, such a decision has been made by shareholders of the OJSC NBO Roghun. The postponement in blocking the Vakhsh River is connected with the fact that international experts have not yet submitted the results of the assessment studies for the Roghun hydroelectricity project, the source added.
The aim of the assessment studies is to comprehensively examine the technical, economic, social and environmental viability of the proposed Roghun project.
The construction of Rogun HPP was begun in 1980 during the Soviet Union era. According to that design, Roghun HPP would have a reservoir with multi-year regulation mode with a dam height of 335 m, 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, Rogun 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 in the 1990s 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. The plant”s completion would substantially increase sales of electricity to neighboring Afghanistan, China, and Pakistan.
