DUSHANBE (TCA) — On January 31, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon received Pietro Salini, the Chief Executive Officer of Salini Impregilo, Italian construction conglomerate which won a $3.9 billion contract to build the Rogun hydropower plant and dam on the Vakhsh River in Tajikistan, the president’s press service said.
The meeting discussed the ongoing construction of the Rogun hydroelectric dam. The president expressed his confidence that Salini Impregilo will take all necessary measures for construction of the Rogun dam and will complete the works in time and with high quality.
After his meeting with Rahmon, Pietro Salini told journalists that he promised the Tajik president that the first generating unit of the Rogun HPP will be commissioned on 16 November 2018, Avesta news agency reported.
Once completed, the Rogun HPP dam would be the world’s tallest and should give Tajikistan a stable power supply.
President Rahmon gave an official start to the construction of the Rogun dam on October 29, 2016.
Tajikistan is heavily dependent on hydroelectric power and regularly experiences electricity outages.
Authorities say the Rogun HPP will be able to provide electricity for the whole country and could also provide parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan with cheap electricity.
Once completed, the Rogun power plant will have 6 turbines of 600 MW each with a total installed capacity of 3,600 MW.
To finance the expensive project, the government of Tajikistan last year issued government securities for $500 million and placed them on the international financial markets.
