DUSHANBE, November 18, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- 55 percent of construction-and-assembling operations at the site for construction of the Sangtuda-2 hydroelectric power plant (HPP), which is one of big Iran’s projects in Tajikistan, has been completed, Iranian Ambassador to Tajikistan, Ali-Asghar Sherdoust, told reporters in Dushanbe on November 17.

According to him, all the hard work on implementation of the project is behind and it just remained to connect large water turbines.  “Some of them have been manufactured in Iran and others have been manufactured in China,” Iranian diplomat said, noting that some of them have already been delivered to Tajikistan.

Sherdoust noted that of US$260 million provided for construction of the station, more than US$125 million, including Iran’s contribution of US$100 million and a $25 million contribution of Tajikistan, had already been used.

Tajikistan and Iran signed a protocol for Iran to construct a 220MW Sangtuda-2 hydropower station on the Vakhsh River in Dushanbe on January 12, 2005.  During President Rahmon’s visit to Iran in January 2006, a number of agreements providing for Iranian assistance for several Tajik infrastructure projects, including construction of the Sangtuda-2 HPP, were signed.  The Sangtuda-2 HPP was scheduled to become operational by 2012 but Tajik officials wanted it to be inaugurated sooner than schedule and now it is expected to be introduced into operation in 2010.

The construction of the Sangtuda-2 station officially commenced in February 2006.  Iranian company Sangab has been building the Sangtuda-2 dam.  Once the power station is built, all the revenue over the next 12.5 years will go to the investor and Tajikistan will become the owner of Sangtuda-2 after this period expires.