The Minister of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan, Daler Juma, discussed mutually beneficial cooperation in the energy sector with the Regional Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for Central Asia, Aiten Rustamova. “Particular attention was paid to the financing of the joint Tajik-Uzbek project for the construction of two hydropower plants on the Zarafshan River,” the press service of the Ministry of Energy reports.
It should be noted that a preliminary agreement on the joint construction of two hydropower plants on the Zarafshan River in the Ayni district of the Sughd region was reached in 2018 by the Presidents of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, and Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
In June 2022, during an official visit of Emomali Rahmon to Uzbekistan, the two leaders launched the construction of the first of these stations – the Yavan Hydropower Plant, with a capacity of 140 megawatts. The estimated cost of this station is $282 million, and it is expected to generate 700−800 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. The projected capacity of the second hydropower plant on the Zarafshan River is preliminarily estimated at 180 MW. It is expected that the electricity generated by these stations will be supplied to Uzbekistan. Interest in participating in the financing of the project, according to the press service of the President of Uzbekistan, has been shown by leading international institutions, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank.