Construction of Rogun HPP in Tajikistan 50% completed - PM

DUSHANBE. March 12 (Interfax) - More than 50% of construction work for the Rogun Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) in Tajikistan has been completed, with over 9 billion somoni or nearly $825 million at the current exchange rate spent on the project over the past two years, Tajik Prime Minister Kohir Rasulzoda said.

"More than 50% of the construction work for the Rogun HPP has been completed. The country's government regularly takes measures to ensure timely financing of this strategic project using all available sources," Rasulzoda was quoted as saying by the Khovar state news agency at an extraordinary meeting of shareholders of Rogun Hydroelectric Power Plant JSC.

Financing agreements for HPP facilities have been signed with six international organizations, and cooperation continues with a number of international financial institutions and development partners to attract concessional funding, he said.

The shareholders' meeting adopted decisions on two issues - the allocation of funds from the sale of electricity generated by the Rogun HPP to the program for distributing revenues from the plant's operation, and the procedure for distributing revenues from electricity sales in both the domestic market and for export, the Khovar agency said.

The Rogun HPP, which is being constructed on the Vakhsh river, will consist of six units each with a capacity of 600 MW. It will become the largest hydroelectric power plant in the region. The first unit was commissioned on November 16, 2018 and the second unit was commissioned on September 9, 2019.

The official exchange rate on March 12 is 10.93 somoni/$1.