Shorouk Express 
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, August 27. Tajikistan is
negotiating grant and loan agreements worth a total of $1.7 billion
with international financial institutions and organizations to
complete the construction of the Rogun hydropower plant (HPP), the
country’s President Emomali Rahmon said during a meeting with plant
workers and local officials in Rogun, Trend reports via the presidential
administration.
According to Rahmon, talks are ongoing with the Asian
Development Bank (ADB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the
European Union (EU), the Italian State Investment Bank (Cassa
Depositi e Prestiti ), the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), and
other organizations.
He noted that, alongside regular financing of the Rogun HPP from
the state budget, the Tajik government is taking concrete steps to
attract additional funding from international financial
institutions and development partners to expedite the completion of
the large-scale project.
Rahmon pointed out that since 2020, Tajikistan has been
cooperating with the World Bank (WB). Over this period, more than
300 direct and remote meetings were held with the WB and other
development partners to discuss dam safety, environmental and
social issues, legal and contractual matters, as well as technical
and engineering studies of the project.
As a result of this cooperation, the WB has approved $650
million in financing for the project and signed a grant agreement
of $350 million for the first phase.
In addition, agreements have been signed with the Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for concessional loans of
$500 million, with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and members
of the Arab Coordination Group (Saudi Fund, Kuwait Fund, and OPEC
Fund) for $450 million, and most recently with the Qatar Fund for
Development for $50 million on August 22.
The Rogun HPP, located on the Vakhsh river, is designed to
include six generating units, bringing the total installed capacity
to 3,780 MW upon full completion, according to the Rogun HPP
company. The first unit was launched on November 16, 2018, and the
second unit was commissioned on September 9, 2019. Earlier reports
had estimated the total installed capacity of the Rogun HPP at
3,600 MW upon full completion.
Once completed, the plant will feature a 335-meter-high dam and
a reservoir with a capacity of 13.3 cubic kilometers, enabling it
to generate an average of 14,400 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of
electricity annually.
