ADB will continue to support the Rogun Dam project in Tajikistan
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) intends to provide support to Tajikistan in the implementation of the Rogun Hydroelectric Power Station (Dam) construction project in 2025. This was stated by the new ADB country director in the Republic of Ko Sakamoto at a meeting with journalists on February 25. He stressed that the project is important not only for achieving energy independence of Tajikistan, but also for ensuring sustainable development of the entire region, including in the context of combating climate change.
Sakamoto said that ADB was invited to participate in a consortium of international financial organizations involved in the financing and implementation of the Rogun Dam project. As part of this cooperation, the Government of Tajikistan has requested financial assistance in the amount of about 500 million US dollars, and this request is currently under consideration. He added that ADB will continue to support the project and will inform about the progress of negotiations and agreements reached.
Last year, ADB provided assistance to Tajikistan in the amount of $220 million. These funds were used to finance six new projects in areas such as agriculture, energy, healthcare, public administration and transport.
Ko Sakamoto also outlined three main areas of further ADB cooperation with Tajikistan in 2025. First, it is the development of a new partnership strategy for 2026-2030. This document will determine the priorities of cooperation for a five-year period, taking into account the national priorities and development objectives of Tajikistan. Work on the new strategy is already underway, as the current strategy is nearing completion.
Secondly, ADB will continue to support efforts to preserve glaciers and combat climate change. Ko Sakamoto recalled that 2025 has been declared the International Year of Glacier Conservation, and a decade of cryospheric sciences begins with it, which will last until 2034. ADB actively supports Tajikistan in its leadership role in protecting glaciers and cooperates with countries in the region in projects aimed at increasing resilience to climate change and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Sakamoto stressed that the preservation of glaciers is of critical importance, since more than 2 billion people in the region depend on water resources, the source of which are glaciers. This water is used for drinking, hydropower, agriculture and other needs. An international conference on glacier conservation will be held in Dushanbe at the end of May, and an important climate meeting will be held in Brazil at the end of the year.
Thirdly, ADB plans to launch four new projects in 2025, the approval of which is expected before the end of the year. One of these projects is dedicated to digital agricultural management and is aimed at improving food security.
The Asian Development Bank has been cooperating with Tajikistan since 1998. During this period, ADB approved more than 198 projects for Tajikistan totaling more than 2.7 billion US dollars, of which more than 2.2 billion US dollars were provided in the form of grants. These projects cover a wide range of areas, including improving transport and energy infrastructure, urban development, health and education support, as well as assistance in overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
