Tajik coal-mining enterprises have produced 1.384 million tons of coal since the beginning of this year, which is 21,000 tons more than over the whole last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies (MoINT).
“It is the largest amount of coal ever produced in Tajikistan,” a source at a MoINT told Asia-Plus in an interview.
Over the report period, Fon-Yagnob has reportedly produced 617,000 tons of coal, TALCO-Resource – 286,000 tons, and the coal production department of the Tajik Metallurgical Works – 223,000 tons.
Since 2007, more than more than 160 industrial enterprises in Tajikistan have been shifted to coal and 230 coal-fired enterprises now operate in the country.
Exploration and development of coal fields has been intensified in Tajikistan since 2012 when Uzbekistan stopped gas shipments to Tajikistan.
In 2014, production amounted to 870,000 tons, in 2015 – already 1 million tons. In 2016, the volume of coal production in Tajikistan increased by another 30% and amounted to more than 1.3 million tons.
The Coal Mining in the EDB Countries survey released by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) on September 7, in particular, says, “For Tajikistan, the coal being produced in the country is an energy raw material and it will be hard to replace it by alternative energies in the foreseeable future.”
The survey, in particular, notes that during the period from 2012 to 2016, average annual growth rates were approximately 44 percent. “Over the first six months of this year, average annual growth rates have been estimated at 20.6 percent (up to 541,000 tons). In the medium term, the government intends to essentially increase production capacity of coal mining in order to meet internal requirements in cola and provide export of coal,” EDB experts stressed.
They say the coal mining in Tajikistan has vast prospects for further development.
According to EDB experts, Tajikistan’s possible coal reserves are estimated at least 4.3 billion tons.
Meanwhile, Tajik ecologists express concern about increase in production of cola in the country.
The Government of Tajikistan intends to expand coal production in the country by 2020 and invest considerable funds in the infrastructure associated with this type of fossil fuel. Local environmental organizations opposed such plans and pointed out that this is fundamentally contrary to the international commitments undertaken by the country under the Paris Agreement.
“Tajikistan is one of the most vulnerable countries in the Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia region and is already experiencing significant negative effects of climate change. It is in the country's interest not only to insist on tougher goals to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases, but also to do everything possible to combat climate change at the national level. The large-scale development of the coal industry contradicts the principles of the existing national climate policy and international efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuels,” – the Tajik NGO network on climate change said in a statement released on August 10.
