Andrei Karunos

T

he interest in Tajikistan on the part of the world’s third largest producer of primary aluminum (2.7 million tons in 2004) is logical enough. Deputy general director of RUSAL Sergei Annenkov reminds that Tajikistan enjoys unique opportunities for developing hydroelectric power engineering. It was in the Soviet times that precisely the availability of this resource allowed to build the Nurekskaya hydroelectric power station and Tajik Aluminum Plant (TajAZ) there. As a matter of fact, RUSAL’s new projects continue to develop this concept.
In Annenkov’s words, the agreement between RUSAL and the government of Tajikistan provides for investments in constructing the Rogunskaya hydroelectric power station and two new electrolysis shops at TajAZ. Besides, the company will take care of training national specialists, who will participate in implementing these projects.
RUSAL’s investments in the economy of Tajikistan will amount to $1.5 billion in the coming decade. Referring to this and other figures Sergei Annenkov suggested that they were not final. More exact data on investments in the Rogunskaya hydroelectric power station will become available this fall, when Lahmeyer will finish a feasibility test. By preliminary estimates, expenses on constructing the first phase of the Rogunskaya hydroelectric power station will reach between $600 million and $650 million. And, as Tajikistan’s Minister of Energy Dzhurabek Nurmakhmadov believes, the total cost of the station will amount to about $2.2 billion. He cites impressive characteristics of the future hydroelectric power station: the height of the rock-piled dam will equal 335 meters (the highest dam in the world), the volume of the reservoir will amount to 13.3 million cubic meters. The hydroelectric power station will have 6 power generating units (600 MW each) and the total electric power output will reach 13.1 billion kWh a year.
The first phase of the hydroelectric power station is expected to be completed in 5 to 7 years. This project provides for erecting a dam 150 m high and commissioning two hydrogenerators. "It is possible to get 400 MW from each power generating unit at this height. By specialists’ estimates, the annual output from the first phase will amount to 4 billion kWh", says Minister of Energy Nurmakhmadov.
Answering the question about the use of such a considerable energy potential, Sergei Annenkov states that it will create prerequisites for developing the country’s metallurgy, medium-sized and small businesses as well as for raising living standards, which so far are low. "When being in Dushanbe it is easy to see what problems Tajikistan is facing because of insufficient supply of electric power", Annenkov notes. According to estimates provided by the Minister of Energy, the seasonal deficit of electric power reaches 3 billion kWh. This and other factors impel the country’s Government and its President to create a favorable investment climate, to encourage attracting foreign capital and experience to the energy sphere in every possible way.
As far as interests of RUSAL are concerned, in the words of its top manager, the Rogunskaya hydroelectric power station is regarded, above all, as "the source of developing the aluminum industry in Tajikistan". The hydroelectric power station will supply electric power to new shops at TajAZ and capacities of a new aluminum plant, which RUSAL also intends to build in this region.
Sergei Annenkov does not mention dates of starting to build this plant and a total amount of possible investments but he says that this enterprise’s capacities will provide about 100,000 tons of aluminum a year.
"We are one of the world’s five aluminum companies that possess their own technology of electrolysis", Sergei Annenkov notes. "That is why we will do it independently on the base of the company’s engineering center. It, of course, does not rule out a cooperation with other companies and we will rely on the world’s experience, particularly, with respect to ecology. We are putting ecology in the first place both in energy and aluminum production", he points out.
The level of ecological security at the Rogunskaya hydroelectric power station worries neighboring Uzbekistan. In this connection Sergei Annenkov refers to RUSAL’s work experience in Russia and other countries: "I can definitely assure you that ecological measures being taken by the company have a favorable impact on the general ecology in any region, where our enterprises are operating".
The Government of Tajikistan and RUSAL intend to set up a management company with RUSAL gradually increasing its share of the capital through investments. Tajikistan’ s share has been defined as a sum of investments made in building the hydroelectric power station during the Soviet period. But, as Minister of Energy Nurmakhmadov says, the figure will still be specified by independent experts and there is a possibility that Tajikistan will make additional investments.
The deputy general director of RUSAL reveals that the company would like to participate in privatization of TajAZ, which right now is owned by the State. "By the example of participating in other projects we want to show to the republic’s leadership that we are able to submit the worthy offers at an investment tender to privatize TajAZ as well", he says.
Despite the fact that TajAZ has multimillion debts, this asset is undoubtedly of interest to RUSAL. Oleg Deripaska confirms it by expressing his satisfaction with the way that the plant is managed. In Deripaska’s words, RUSAL is not going to limit itself to constructing two electrolyses but it intends to further participate in modernizing and reconstructing the enterprise. It is worth to note that already for a long time RUSAL has been supplying alumina to the plant.
RUSAL is not the only potential economic partner of Tajikistan. Both Iran and Pakistan also show their interest in opportunities for developing the energy sphere in this country. According to Minister Nurmakhmadov, there was even an agreement with Pakistan on completing construction of the Rogunskaya hydroelectric power station "but now Pakistan is more interested in buying energy". Besides, simultaneously with RUSAL another largest Russian company, RAO UES of Russia, announced its desire to make investments in Tajikistan’s power industry.
Oleg Deripaska denies a possibility of facing any intrigues and controversies because of competition. "The situation is transparent. I am sure that both Iran’s projects and projects from RAO UES for Tajikistan will be successful", he says. As he sees it, "the matter comes now to developing a network economy and arranging sales".
It goes without saying that the aluminum producer would like to protect itself from fluctuations of prices related to tariff policy of energy monopolies. To this end RUSAL acquires and develops its own energy capacities. At the same time, Deripaska is satisfied that RAO UES is reforming the power industry and is seeking long-term contracts. He notes that RAO UES and RUSAL are the strategic partners. To all appearances, this partnership will be maintained on Tajikistan’s market as well. "If on their part the situation leads to sales of electric power under long-term contracts, we will be interested in this", confirms Oleg Deripaska adding that his company highly appreciates efforts by RAO UES to synchronize Asian markets of energy. This work has already been done in Azerbaijan and Iran, Afghanistan comes next.
Getting back to the project of constructing the Rogunskaya hydroelectric power station, Oleg Deripaska once again expresses his satisfaction with how much the Government and business in Tajikistan are open to investments and are interested in them. In his words, in a sense this situation is extraordinary for the Central Asian region.

Reference:
Tajikistan
The country in Central Asia, former republic of the USSR. Its territory is 143.100 square km, population is over 6 million people.
There are subsoil reserves of oil, natural gas, bauxites, coal, iron ores, zinc, antimony, mercury, tin, tungsten, boron, gold, etc. The key industries are mining and metallurgy. A special place in the country’s economy belongs to hydro-electric engineering: by specific hydroelectric resources Tajikistan is placed first in the world and eighth by absolute indexes (300 billion kWh a year). At present, the country’s hydro-electric engineering is based on the Nurekskaya hydroelectric power station located on the Vakhsh river, its capacity being 2,700 MW (among 30 of the world’s most powerful hydroelectric power stations). The 300-m high dam of the Nurekskaya hydroelectric power station is considered the highest in the world.
The Rogunskaya hydroelectric power station should become the sixth, uppermost step of the Vakhsh cascade. The preparatory stage of constructing the Rogunskaya hydroelectric power station was started in 1976. In 1987 the dam’s erection began. However, after the breakup of the Soviet Union construction works were frozen and the dam was washed away by flood.