DUSHANBE, July 25, 2014, Asia-Plus – The national budget for 2014 has earmarked 1.34 billion somoni for the Roghun hydropower project (Roghun HPP).

In a report released at a news conference in Dushanbe, First Deputy Finance Minister, Jamoliddin Nouraliyev, noted on July 25 that financing of the Roghun HPP is carried out in accordance with the schedule endorsed by the World Bank.

“The project is financed from two sources: the national budget and money earned from the sale of Roghun shares,” the deputy minister said. 

According to him, the sale of Roghun shares to the public has earned the government 839 million somoni.  “Of this amount, 392 million somoni have gone to purchasing equipment for the Roghun hydropower plant and the remaining 447 million somoni are kept in commercial banks (200 million somoni) and special account of the Ministry of Finance (247 million somoni),” Nouraliyev noted.

We will recall that to raise funds to complete construction of the Roghun hydroelectric power plant the government started to sell shares in Roghun to people on January 6, 2010.  Tajikistan has reportedly issued 6 billion somoni (US$1.37 billion) worth of Roghun shares.  They issued shares of different face values (100, 500 and 1,000 somoni) and the Certificates of Shares.  The face value of one certificate of shares is 5,000 somoni.

Tajikistan’s plans to build the Roghun HPP have raised serious concerns across the border in Uzbekistan.  Uzbek officials argue that because it could take up to 18 years to fill, the Roghun project will severely reduce the amount of water flowing into Uzbekistan.