First unit of the Qairoqqum hydroelectric power plant (HPP) was introduced into operation sixty years ago, on December 15, 1956. 

“Today, all six units of the plant operate in full capacity generating 3.024 million kWh of electricity per day that is 30 percent of Sughd province’s daily requirements in electricity,” the plant director Fayzullo Avezov told Asia-Plus in an interview.  

According to him, the plant’s reservoir supplies not only hydroelectric power production but also water for irrigation, primarily in Uzbekistan downstream.  The reservoir is also a Ramsar site.

The Qairoqqum Dam is an embankment dam on the Syr Darya River near the town of Guliston (formerly Qairoqqum) in Sughd province.  It is situated on the western edge of the Fergana Valley and creates Qairoqqum Reservoir.  The dam's power station has an installed capacity of 126 MW and is operated by Barqi Tojik (Tajikistan’s national integrated power company).  Construction on the dam began in 1952.  It began to impound its reservoir in 1956 and the first two generators were commissioned that year.  The other four were operational in 1957 and the project was complete in 1959.

The power station is currently undergoing a rehabilitation which should be completed in 2020.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has reportedly provided about 75 million USD for rehabilitation of hydro-mechanical and electrical equipment of two units out of six at the Qairoqqum hydro power plant.  The rehabilitation will increase the currently installed capacity of the plant from 126MW to 142MW by installing two new turbines with greater rated capacity. Turbines with greater capacity will prevent unnecessary discharge of water through spillways and generate more electricity with the same flow of water. The project will also raise the safety level of the power plant and strengthen its resilience against the projected impacts of climate change.