DUSHANBE, February 3, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Construction of 170MW Ayni hydroelectric power plant (HPP) on the Zarafshon River in Sughd province will start after introduction of the Sangtuda-2 HPP into operation, according to the Ministry of energy and Industries (MoEI).

“Construction of the Sangtud-2 HPP is expected to be finished until the end of this year,” said the source, “Farab Company and Design Institute Maabi Qods from Iran are currently making preparations for signing of an agreement for conducting feasibility study for construction of Ayni HPP.”  Iranian specialists are expected to arrive in near the future to get acquainted with the site for the future power plant, he added.

“Iranian ad Tajik specialists will also consider the possibility of construction of 870MW Shurob HPP on the Vakhsh River and small 21MW power plant on the Iskandaryo River,” the source noted.  

We will recall that a letter of understanding related to Dushanbe-Tehran cooperation in the field of constructing a dam and a power plant was signed in Dushanbe in early January this year.   The document was signed between Tajikistan’s Ministry of Energy and Industries and Barqi Tojik (Tajik electricity supplier) Power Holding and Iran’s Farab Company.

Farab Co began operating as a main contractor for water projects in 1992 and after simultaneous implementation of a few big Water projects during 2002-2003, has expanded its operating in other water-and-energy related fields.