The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on August 6 that it had approved a $21 million grant as additional financing to modernize the Golovnaya hydropower plant in Tajikistan.
The additional financing will replace the power generation unit 4 at the Golovnaya hydropower plant. Unit 4, which was not part of ADB’s original project approved in 2013, ceased operations in 2019 due to damage to its mechanical equipment.
ADB’s original project provided a $136 million grant to replace five of the plant’s six power generation units. It also rehabilitated switchyards at the Golovnaya hydropower plant, modernized the Vose substation, and constructed the Rudaki substation and a transmission line connecting the Rudaki and Vose substations in southern Tajikistan.
The hydropower plant’s modernization will increase its installed capacity from 240 megawatts in 2012 to 274 megawatts by 2026.
ADB Director General for Central and West Asia, Yevgeniy Zhukov, commented: “The electricity from the Golovnaya hydropower plant goes to national and regional grids, benefiting Tajikistan and neighboring countries. ADB’s support improves regional energy security, contributing to inclusive, sustainable economic growth and balanced regional development.”
Late in December 2023, Tajik president Emomali Rahmon stated that Tajikistan’s energy capacity exceeded 6,000 megawatts in 2023, and electricity production amounted to 22 billion kilowatt-hours, 4.8 billion kilowatt-hours or 28% more than in 2017.
Rahmon also said that by 2032, electricity production in the country would be entirely from renewable sources; that is, 100% will be provided by “green energy, and Tajikistan will truly become a green country.”
