DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, October 8. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an additional grant of $15 million for Tajikistan, Trend reports.
According to the ADB, this funding will help expand an ongoing project to connect Tajikistan’s energy system to the Central Asian Power System (CAPS) by linking it with neighboring Uzbekistan.
The extra funding will help build a new 22-kilometer, 500-kilovolt transmission line in northern Tajikistan, connecting the Sughd substation to the New Syrdarya substation in Uzbekistan.
This will increase the capacity for power exports and imports among Central Asian countries, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It will also improve the infrastructure to help prevent grid failures that can cause blackouts.
The project will also prepare Tajikistan's energy system to provide services for managing power flows and frequencies, allowing for a smoother integration of renewable energy in the region.
According to the ADB, in the long term, it will be a key part of the plan to transmit electricity from the Rogun hydropower plant in Tajikistan.
"Through the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program, ADB actively promotes regional power trade among countries in Central Asia and beyond. Our support improves the sustainability of the regional power system and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region," said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov.
Tajikistan joined the ADB in 1998. Since then, the bank has supported projects in the country totaling over $2.7 billion, including more than $2.1 billion in grants.