EBRD, Green Climate Fund support Qairokkum hydropower plant rehabilitation

Tajikistan’s state-owned power utility Barki Tojik has secured a funding of $88 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for the rehabilitation of the Qairokkum hydropower plant (QHPP) in the Central Asian country.

A full rehabilitation of the Qairokkum hydropower plant will support the country’s electric supply by increasing its power generation capacity from 126MW to 174MW with the replacement of the ageing existing hydro power turbines.

The EBRD-GCF financing will be used for executing the second and final phase of the 60-year-old Tajikistan hydropower plant’s rehabilitation and modernization. While EBRD will offer a loan of $38 million, Green Climate Fund will offer a loan of $27 million along with a grant of $23 million.

Currently, the Qairokkum hydropower plant, which has been built on the Syr Darya River near Kayrakkum in Sughd Province, generates an average of 700GWh of electricity per year to meet the electric consumption needs of 500,000 Tajikistanis.

Qairokkum hydropower plant in Tajikistan. Photo courtesy of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

As part of the second phase rehabilitation and modernization, Barki Tojik will undertake concrete dam works and install hydraulic steel components, new hydro power turbines and electromechanical equipment for the four hydropower units installed at the Tajikistan hydropower plant.

The Qairokkum hydropower plant in northern Tajikistan, which was commissioned in 1956-57, comprises six 21MW Kaplan-type hydro power turbines.

According to EBRD, the upgrade at the Qairokkum hydropower plant will involve new climate resilience measures taken up to ensure that it can handle the anticipated effect of climate change on Tajikistan’s hydrology.

It further stated that Tajikistan’s hydropower sector is very sensitive to the effects of climate change and that the rehabilitation and modernization project incorporates carefully designed investments to make hydropower more resilient.

EBRD on the loan for the Qairokkum hydropower plant rehabilitation, stated: “The loan will complete an ambitious programme of investment that was commenced in 2014 with financing from the EBRD, Austria and the United Kingdom and the Climate Investment Funds’ Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience. The government of Austria is again funding technical cooperation support.”