Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

The Government of Tajikistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement to provide the republic with gratuitous aid in the amount of $ 35 million which will be used to joint the power system of Tajikistan with the Central Asian energy system by reconnecting with the system of Uzbekistan.

The agreement was signed by the Minister of Economic Development and Trade Nematullo Hikmatullozoda, the Government of Tajikistan, and the ADB - Permanent Representative of this financial institution in the republic Pradeep Srivastava, the press service of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade reports.

At the beginning of last week, the ADB approved a grant in the amount of $ 35 million, which will be aimed at full restoration of the connection of the electricity system of Tajikistan with the power system of Uzbekistan. This means the restoration of the parallel operation of the Tajik energy system from the regional one, from which Tajikistan was cut off in 2009.

The ADB office in Dushanbe said that within the framework of the project to synchronize the electricity networks of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, it is planned to install modern relays, automatic switches, instrument transformers, auxiliary, and other equipment. Equipment that will increase the reliability of the system will be installed at the junction points on 220 kV and 500 kV transmission lines.

In addition, it is planned to launch two new points of connection of Tajik networks to the Uzbek power grid in the north. It is assumed that the installation of 500 kV transmission lines, 1.5 km long, which is designed to increase the stability of the parallel operation of the two power systems.

The ADB believes that the parallel operation of the energy systems of Central Asia will benefit all countries in the region.

“This project will allow Tajikistan to export summer surplus of electricity to Uzbekistan, and to ensure more efficient use of regional energy resources. Reconnection is an important step in ensuring full parallel work with the power system of Uzbekistan and the Central Asian energy system,” said ADB Financial Specialist Yuki Inoue.

Taking into account the contribution of the Government of Tajikistan in the amount of $ 5 million, the total cost of the project is $ 40 million. It is expected to be completed in 2022.

Currently, as part of United Energy System, the energy systems of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and South Kazakhstan are working in parallel. The power system of South Kazakhstan is an integral part of the Unified Power System of Kazakhstan, through which the Central Asia Power Network operates in parallel mode with the UES of the CIS. The Turkmen energy system withdrew from the ECO in 2003 and operates in parallel with the Iranian energy system.

The Asian Development Bank was conceived in the early 1960s as a financial institution that would be Asian in character and foster economic growth and cooperation in one of the poorest regions in the world.

ADB assists its members, and partners, by providing loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development.

The Bank is composed of 67 members, 48 of which are from the Asia and Pacific region.

In 2017, ADB operations totaled $32.2 billion, including $11.9 billion in cofinancing.

ADB is celebrating 20 years of development partnership with Tajikistan in 2018. To date, ADB has approved around 1.7 billion dollars in grants, concessional loans, and technical assistance to the country. ADB and Tajikistan’s development partnership, which began in 1998, has restored and built the country’s new transport and energy infrastructure, supported social development, expanded agricultural production, and improved regional cooperation and trade.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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