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.
