DUSHANBE, August 13, 2013, Asia-Plus – On Tuesday August 13, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and German Ambassador to Tajikistan, Mr. Green, opened 220-kV Switchyards at Nurek Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP), press release issued by KfW Development Bank says.

KfW Development Bank, on behalf of the German Government, has provided a loan of EUR 18 million and a grant of EUR 7 million for the project.

The Nurek HPP with a capacity of 3,000 MW is the largest hydropower plant in Central Asia and it produces over 75 percent of Tajikistan''s electricity.

Being constructed in 1974 to a site facing the risks of subsidence and landslides, the operational reliability of the Power Plant was at risk.  The objective  of the project  was  to  increase  the  operational safety  of Nurek HPP and to contribute sustainably to an  electricity  supply  based  on  a renewable  source.

The project comprises the replacement of 220-kV Switchyard by a new gas-insulated system, new control, protection and auxiliary equipment as well as consultancy services for the Project Implementation Unit Barqi Tojik (the state-owned utility responsible for generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Tajikistan).

In a process of tender, the German engineering company Fichtner was selected as consultant and the French ALSTOM as project supplier.

KfW  is  one  of the  world''s  leading  and  most  experienced  promotional  banks.  Established in 1948 as a public law institution, KfW is owned 80% by the Federal Republic of Germany and 20% by the federal states.

KfW Development Bank is Germany''s leading development bank and an integral part of KfW.  lt carries out Germany''s Financial Cooperation (FC) with developing countries on behalf of the Federal Government.  The  600 personnel  at headquarters  and  about  200  specialists  in  its  66  local  offices cooperate  with  patners all over the  world.  lts  goal  is  to  combat poverty, secure  the  peace,  protect  the  environment  and  the  climate  and make globalization  fair,  KfW  is  a competent  and  strategic  advisor  on current development  issues.