Sangtudinskaya Dam-1 will write off the debt to Tajikistan and reduce tariffs for light
Tajik National energy holding “Barki Tojik” has concluded a number of strategically important agreements aimed at the financial recovery of the company. The key agreements relate to the restructuring of multimillion-dollar debts to the Sangtuda Dam-1 and Dam-2. This was announced during a press conference in Dushanbe by Deputy head of the company Rustam Majidzoda, commenting on the implementation of the government decree on stabilizing the situation in the energy sector.
The most significant achievement was the agreement with OJSC Sangtudinskaya Dam-1, the controlling stake of which belongs to Russian companies. The parties agreed to write off the colossal debt of Barki Tojik in the amount of $ 297 million. This process, however, will not be instantaneous. According to the conditions reached, the write-off will take place in stages over eight years. “This debt will be written off in the period from 2025 to 2033 – $ 25 million annually, subject to timely and full payment of current supplies,” Majidzoda explained. He also stressed that since the beginning of the year the amount of debt owed to this station has remained unchanged, which indicates the complexity of the problem.
In addition to debt restructuring, the agreement with Sangtuda-1 includes an unprecedented reduction in the tariff for supplied electricity. The cost of a kilowatt–hour for Barka Tojik will be reduced by more than half – from 3.2 to 1.5 cents. To make such concessions possible, a protocol on amending the intergovernmental agreement between Tajikistan and Russia was signed. This document extends the period of return on investments made in the construction of Dams by 15 years – from 20 to 35 years, pushing the final deadline to 2048.
Similar negotiations were crowned with success with Sangtuda-2 Dam OJSC, in the construction of which Iran played a key role. An agreement was reached with this station to extend the repayment period of the debt. According to Rustam Majidzoda, Barki Tojik’s debt to Sangtuda-2 has reached an impressive amount of 3.7 billion somoni, and the new agreement gives the energy holding the necessary respite to stabilize financial flows.
These measures are part of a broader campaign to clear the balance of Barki Tojik. In particular, part of the company’s debt to the Ministry of Finance of Tajikistan was written off. We are talking about loans that were attracted under state guarantees for the implementation of various investment projects in the electric power industry. Thanks to this, the volume of such debts was reduced to 12 billion somoni.
At the same time, despite the positive developments, the financial situation of the energy holding remains tense. The company continues to accumulate new debts. So, as of July 1 of this year, Barki Tojik’s debt to the Rogun Dam under construction for the electricity already received amounted to 1 billion somoni, which indicates the continuing systemic problems in the country’s energy sector.
Original (in Russian): Сангтудинская ГЭС-1 спишет долг Таджикистану и снизит тарифы на свет
