Tajikistan Business Economy - The Times Of Central Asia

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Global Environment Facility to Aid Ecosystem Restoration in Central Asian Countries

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund will provide almost $5.4m to Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to support their efforts to strengthen integrated water resources management in the Amu Darya, Zarafshan and Panj river basins. This funding is part of the Central Asia Water-Land Linkages (CAWLN) program, implemented by the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and supported by the GEF Trust Fund. Under this initiative, GEF will provide financing for projects totaling over $26m across Central Asia. The project will run until August 2025. The financing will be used to restore 5,350 hectares of land and ecosystems, and also to introduce improved cultivation practices on 1.3 million hectares of land. It also aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 11 million tons, and improve co-management of shared ecosystems. The program is projected to improve the lives of 487,000 people. Central Asia's complex river systems are the main sources of water for the region's 60 million people, agriculture, and energy production. They also support diverse ecosystems and livelihoods in these countries. However, unsustainable water use and soil degradation have led to water scarcity and upset the ecological balance of the region. The program aimed at addressing these negative impacts consists of seven projects, including individual projects in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. They aim to improve agriculture and natural resource management by addressing issues such as tree felling, land degradation and loss of biodiversity. In addition, there is a regional project to coordinate efforts and share knowledge across basins. Although there is no separate program for Tajikistan, the country will be involved in projects on ecosystem restoration and sustainable agriculture. The Central Asia Water and Land Resources Complex Program, recently approved by the GEF council and overseen by FAO, will provide $26m (with co-financing from the World Bank of $335.5m) to restore the ecosystems of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river basins. It will also aim to improve water security, resilience and livelihoods of rural communities in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Since 1994 Uzbekistan has participated in the implementation of more than 50 GEF projects at the national, regional and international level.

Kyrgyzstan Resumes Construction Work on Pakistan Electricity Export Project

As the process of normalizing relations continues between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, representatives of both sides have met in Bishkek to discuss the CASA-1000 (Central Asia-South Asia) power export project. According to Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Energy, Kyrgyzstan has signed a joint declaration with Pakistan and Tajikistan to resume construction of high-voltage transmission lines in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, to export electricity to Pakistan. It is reported that construction work on the CASA-1000 project has been resumed in Afghanistan, where it was frozen after the Taliban came to power in 2021. "This declaration thanks the World Bank for its prompt approval of the resumption of construction work on the CASA-1000 project in Afghanistan. It also reaffirms its readiness to fully support the implementation of the preconditions agreed with the World Bank Board for the resumption of construction in [Afghanistan]. This is a serious step forward in the region's desire for energy cooperation", said the Kyrgyz Ministry of Energy's press service. "Tajikistan is expected to supply 70 percent of the CASA-1000 project [electricity], and Kyrgyzstan the remaining 30 percent. [They'll supply] a total of 1,000-1,300 MW of electricity per year," Elzada Sargashkayeva, head of the public relations department of NENK (National Electricity Networks of Kyrgyzstan), told the Times of Central Asia. In Afghanistan, construction of the power lines was 60% complete, the agency said. Late last year, the World Bank allocated an additional $18.3m for Kyrgyzstan under CASA-1000 -- on top of the $216m previously allocated for the project. "For the Kyrgyz Republic, the CASA-1000 project provides for the construction of A/C power transmission lines (500 kV), with a length of about 456 kilometers. Currently, the project implementation is proceeding at an active pace: 1,243 [transmission towers] have already been installed (100 percent), work on suspension of wires on 287 kilometers of power lines has been completed (63 percent)," said World Bank Senior Energy Specialist Dmitry Glazkov. Work on the project was suspended when the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan -- and also due to the armed border conflict between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the international institute said. But the scope of work remains the same. The World Bank is allocating the additional support to bridge the funding gap caused by rising prices for goods and transportation after the Covid-19 pandemic and its ensuing broad economic crisis. The money will be given to Kyrgyzstan in the form of an interest-free loan for 50 years, with a 10-year grace period. The project's target completion time is March 2025. According to the World Bank, Central Asia has many renewable energy sources, and is strategically positioned to develop regional trade in electricity, the exchange of which is still limited. "In Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, hydropower plants generate more than 80-90 percent of electricity, but these countries use less than five percent of their hydropower potential, which is several times the combined demand of the entire region. At the same time, 90 percent of the energy needs of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan are met by fossil fuels,...

Tajikistan Seeks EU Cooperation on Energy Projects

Tajikistan believes that the European Union (EU) will encourage energy projects that are being implemented in the country and throughout Central Asia to mitigate climate change. That's the view held by Sirojiddin Mukhriddin, the head of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed during a speech at the diplomatic forum “New Dynamics of Cooperation in Eurasia” in Antalya, Turkey. “Just five percent of the nation’s current hydropower potential has been utilized up to this point. Our projects are wonderful. Among them is the Rogun HPP, one of the world's biggest hydroelectric power stations. Of course, we also invited all of our partners to help us build these initiatives, [and] the European Union is one of them,” said Mukhriddin. The minister mentioned that the United States and the EU are funding the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the republic's mountainous Badakhshan autonomous region. Mukhriddin claimed that this would contribute to the energy supply for both this area and Afghanistan, a neighboring country with its own pressing electricity needs. Mukhriddin mentioned the Sustainable Energy Connections in Central Asia project, which is being managed by the EU. “We believe that the program will fortify the institutional, legal, and regulatory framework for the region’s shift to a sustainable energy system,” the minister said. “With the help of our partners, especially the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and others, we anticipate that this project will be implemented successfully,” he added.

World Bank Supports Development of Tajikistan’s Emerging E-Commerce Market

On March 1st, Dushanbe played host to ‘Elevating Global Access through E-Commerce (E-GATE)’, a conference organized by the World Bank and the IFC. A first for Tajikistan, its goal was to facilitate knowledge and resource exchange amongst the country’s small and medium enterprises as well as with regional and global players in the e-commerce ecosystem. “Recognizing the pivotal role e-commerce plays in modern economies, the World Bank is actively supporting Tajikistan in its journey to develop appropriate platforms, including E-GATE,” said Ozan Sevimli, World Bank Country Manager for Tajikistan. “The E-GATE program offers Tajik small and medium enterprises highly valuable membership of global B2B e-commerce platforms to access markets unavailable offline, and provide technical support to the government on drafting enabling legislation, and channel global knowledge to Tajik e-sellers through capacity building activities.” The conference attracted e-commerce stakeholders from Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as global e-commerce giants including Amazon and Alibaba. In landlocked Tajikistan, as in the whole of Central Asia, the emergence of e-commerce is proving a powerful tool to tap into global markets for locally made products, modernize traditional supply chains, and foster growth in employment opportunities. To ensure the smooth functioning of E-commerce operations, Tajikistan recently introduced a ‘On Electronic Commerce’ law. According to ECDB, a specialized e-commerce data analytics company (https://ecommercedb.com/markets/tj/all), Tajikistan is currently one of the smaller markets for e-commerce. The predicted revenue for 2024 is $17.1 million but once developed, is expected to increase by 5.4% per annum resulting in a projected market volume of $21.1 million by 2028.

EBRD Helps Increase Reliability of Tajikistan’s Electrical Grid

An announcement was made on February 28th that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is to increase the reliability and sustainability of electricity supply in Tajikistan. The national transmission network operator Shabaqahoi Intiqoli Barq (SIB) will be awarded some €31 million, comprising two EBRD sovereign loans and an investment grant of up to €8 million to help restore the existing transformer and construct a new one at the Sugd-500 substation in the north of the country. The northern Tajikistan power system depends on the 500 kV Sugd-Dushanbe high-voltage line connected to the Sugd-500 substation. Once upgraded and expanded, the substation will allow for a more sustainable electrical grid able to meet domestic and export demands. It will also help SIB integrate up to 700 MW of renewables in line with Tajikistan’s 2030 National Development Strategy to diversify its energy production. In 2023, Tajikistan’s energy capacity exceeded 6,000 megawatts, and electricity production amounted to 22 billion kilowatt-hours; 4.8 billion kilowatt-hours or 28% more than in 2017. Addressing the issue last December, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon announced that the government was making sound progress in its strategy to establish a ‘green economy’. To achieve this goal, he explained that over the next seven years, Tajikistan aims to increase electricity exports to 10 billion kilowatt-hours, and by 2030, the construction of power plants employing renewable energy sources will increase the production of green energy to 1,000 megawatts. Looking ahead, the country aims to source all its electricity from renewable sources, primarily hydropower, by 2023.

Two Hydrometric Stations Open On Uzbekistan, Tajikistan Border

Two hydrometric stations have been opened along the cross-border Great Fergana Canal and North Fergana Canal, according to a report by news portal Gazeta.uz. Construction of the stations was facilitated by the Swiss government’s Blue Peace Central Asia initiative. The project was started in 2017 in response to the need for a cross-border strategy for water management in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The hydrometric stations were opened as part of the sixth meeting of the Uzbekistan-Tajikistan working group on the coordinated use of the transnational rivers’ water resources in Central Asia. The two countries signed a protocol on the automated computations and real-time transfer of cost data to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan from the two stations. The Gazeta.uz report claims that Switzerland has been assisting water reform initiatives in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan for nearly 20 years, employing an integrated approach to national water resources management. Blue Peace Central Asia supports the creation of guidelines for regional cooperation aimed at ensuring water security for the entire population of Central Asia. Recently, the data source Meteojurnal released statistics regarding the use of Amudarya water by Central Asian nations in 2023, based on information from the scientific information center of the Central Asian interstate water management coordination commission (Afghanistan was not taken into account). The largest user of river water was Turkmenistan, which diverted 42% of river water (20 cubic kilometers) to its own country. In second place was Uzbekistan, which used 38.4% of the river’s water (about 18.3 cubic kilometers). The next largest user, Tajikistan, accounted for 19.8% of water (more than 9.4 cubic kilometers).