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Eurasia
March 16, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 21
objective to become a regional energy exporter via the CASA-1000 project.
“We share the view that the existing hydropower facilities and those under construction will help resolve the region’s water and power issues,” Mirziyoyev’s Tajik counterpart Imomali Rahmon told reporters. “In this regard, we welcome Uzbekistan’s support for the development of hydropower facilities in Tajikistan, including Rogun.”
Mirziyoyev noted that Uzbekistan plans to buy Tajik hydropower. Rahmon, in turn, responded that Tajikistan “will never leave [its] neighbours without water”.
Mirziyoyev’s visit to Tajikistan marked another step in thawing relations between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan since Karimov, an autocrat whose relations towards neighbours were extremely cautious, passed away in 2016, giving way to reformist Mirziyoyev.
Both sides signed 27 agreements worth $140mn within the framework of the visit, where $100mn accounts for a dollar-denominated Uzbek loan to Tajikistan. That will be aimed at developing Uzbek- Tajik business ties. Rahmon vowed to support Mirziyoyev’s initiative for regional cooperation in Central Asia as both leaders declared that the two neighbours are entering a new era of partnership.
Many prior developments led up to the March 9 event. Within the past months, the two countries
have agreed to ascribe the ownership of the disputed Soviet-era Farhod hydropower station to Uzbekistan, while the territory surrounding the station will become Tajik property. Uzbek agency Uztrade, which assists small and
private businesses and farmers with exporting goods, opened a Tajik branch in Dushanbe last November. In January, the two countries agreed on a visa-free travel regime, allowing Tajik and Uzbek citizens to visit each other's country for up to 30 days without a visa. The agreement was signed during the March 9 visit.
Currently, the total capacity of Tajikistan’s hydropower plants amounts to 5,190 MW, but ageing infrastructure makes only 3,600MW of that capacity usable. That, in turn, leads to chronic winter electricity shortages. The Rogun project envisages installing six additional hydropower turbines, with a capacity of 600MW each, that, once fully operational, will put an end to the winter woes.
Pietro Salini, chief executive officer of the Italian construction conglomerate Salini Impregilo which won a $3.9bn contract for the construction of the dam, said in February that the first hydropower unit of the Rogun project was set to launch in November.
The dam’s construction would also determine the success of Tajikistan’s dollar-denominated $500mn Eurobond, the first such bond issued by the country.