35 new mini power plants will be built in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) that will allow 12,000 local residents to get access to electricity for the first time.
The International Development Association (IDA), which is the part of the World Bank that helps the world's poorest countries, will award a US$25.2 million grant to provide access of residents of 61 villages in GBAO to electric power.
A relevant agreement that was concluded between the International Development Association and Pamir Energy Company was endorsed by Tajikistan’s lower chamber (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament on April 22.
Presenting the agreement to lawmakers, the Minister of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan, noted that the agreement provided for electrification of 20 villages in the Murgab district, 21 villages in the Rushan district, nine villages in the Vanj district, four villages in the Darvoz district, three villages each in the Shugnan and Roshtaqala districts and one village in the Ishkashim district.
“One of the features of the project is that 35 villages are locate in remote areas difficult to access, and the only way to provide them with electric power is to build mini power plants,” the minister said.
According to him, the project provides for purchasing and installing solar panels in 18 villages, wind farms in six villages, and equipment for small hydropower plants in eleven villages.
The remaining 26 villages will be electrified though construction and rehabilitation of about 240 kilometers of power transmission line.
