Eurasian Integration Yearbook 2012

Vladimir Yasinskiy, Alexander Mironenkov, Tulegen Sarsembekov.“Water and Energy Problems in the Basins of Transboundary Riversin Central Asia and Prospects for the Development of HydropowerResources”Advanced Economic Cooperationin Sectors and Industriesthe change of the role of water reservoirs and other flow control structures onthe transboundary rivers makes it difficult to find solutions to the problems ofenergy, water, food and environmental security not only for the neighbouringcountries but for the region as a whole.New hydropower and water facilities in the region are being built increasinglyon a bilateral basis. As a rule, in addition to providing financing andcoordination of operations at these facilities, a country that takes part in theproject is provided with the right to jointly operate them upon completion fora specified period of time.The Turkmen-Iranian Dostluk (Friendship) Dam on the transboundary TejenRiver was one of the first joint projects in Central Asia. Its construction began in2000, on parity with Iran, and was completed in 2004. The dam had a projectvalue of $168 million and includes a multipurpose reservoir (irrigation, electricpower generation, flood control). The dam is 78 m high and its storage capacityis 1,250 million m 3 ; the installed capacity of the hydropower plant (HPP) is 14MW (four 3.5 MW units). The reservoir supplies irrigation water to 50,000 ha ofland (25,000 ha in each of the countries). The agreement between Turkmenistanand Iran on the joint use of water resources of the Tejen (Hari Rud) River andthe Dostluk (Friendship) reservoir, with each state having a share of 410 millionm 3 of water, was signed in 2004 (www.turkmenistan.ru). In accordance withArticle 8 of the Agreement, the Dostluk Dam and its facilities are jointly ownedby Turkmenistan and Iran and may not be waived by any of the parties ortransferred to legal entities, individuals or other countries.Tajikistan has significant hydropower potential ranking eighth in the world afterChina, Russia, the US, Brazil, Congo, India and Canada (527 billion kWh ayear, including 88 billion kWh a year ready for development). The hydropowerpotential of the Vakhsh and Panj Rivers accounts for 48% and 23.2%respectively, or 71.2% of Tajikistan’s total hydropower resources. The bulk ofthe country’s hydropower potential (93%) is concentrated in the basins of theKofarnihon, Zeravshan, Bartang and Gunt Rivers, which account for 21.76% ofTajikistan’s total hydropower resources. The state authorities plan to constructnew HPPs in this area.The development of Tajikistan’s hydropower resources was linked primarily tothe Vakhsh River, where in the 1950s the authorities commenced the constructionof a cascade of hydropower plants (HPPs), including the Rogun, Nurek, Baipaza,Sangtuda-1, Sangtuda-2, and the Vakhsh Golovnaya, Perepadnaya and Centralpower plants.The construction of the largest 3,000 MW Nurek HPP with nine units and atotal annual generation of 11.4 billion kWh began in 1961 and was finallycompleted in 1979. The dam is 300 m high and the reservoir has a surface areaof 98 km 2 . The gross and active storage capacity of the reservoir is 10.5 km 3 andEurasian Development Bank219