DUSHANBE, January 10, Asia-Plus  -- Natural-gas price for residential customers has risen some 46 percent, reaching 688.15 somonis (equivalent to $198.5) per 1,000 cubic meters.

Shavkat Shoimov, deputy director general of Tajik state natural-gas distributor Tojikgaz, told Asia-Plus that a decision on new gas rates was made by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT) on January 9.  

Last year, Tojikgaz supplied natural gas to the public at the rate of 473 somonis per 1,000 cubic meters and to industrial enterprises at the rate of 565 somonis.

This year, enterprises will also pay for natural gas at the rate of 688.15 somonis per 1,000 cubic meters. 

In the meantime, a number of large enterprises such as TALCO (Tajik Aluminum Company), closed joint-stock company TojikAzot (mineral fertilizers production), Tojikcement (Dushanbe cement plant) and the Yovon heat and power station will pay for Uzbek natural gas at the rate of 647 somonis ($186.7) per 1,000 cubic meters.  Shoimov explained that by saying that those enterprises received natural gas straight from the gas main.   

We will recall that Tajikistan reached an agreement with Uzbekistan on the price for natural-gas imports for 2008 last December.  The agreement sets the price gas for Tajik gas imports at $145 per 1,000 cubic meters. 

The sides also reached an agreement on the volume of natural gas to be imported from Uzbekistan in 2008.  This year, Tajikistan is planning to import 650 million cubic meters of natural gas from Uzbekistan.   

According to some source, the agreement requires Tajikistan to pay in full for the gas imports from Uzbekistan in advance, following past problems with mounting arrears.