Water Unites

a severe energy crisis today. In winter, rural areas usually have power for only a few hours
a day. In the winter 2010/11, even in the capital the electricity supply was restricted. The
problem is aggravated by the fact that much of the energy that is produced is consumed
by the big aluminium plant TALCO or gets lost in inefficient transmission systems. In this
respect, the government strives to make more use of its rich hydropower potential. In addition
to about 250 small hydropower plants, several new large one have been constructed
since independence, such as the Sangtuda 1 and 2 on the Vakhsh River, supported by Russian
and Iranian investments.
The Tajik government has also revived old plans to build the highest dam in the
world at Roghun, with a planned height of 335 m and a power plant designed to produce
3 600 MW of electricity. The construction of this dam was started in the 1980s, but construction
stopped and it was damaged by a flood in the early 1990s. In October 2004, the
Tajik government entered into an agreement with the Russian company RusAl to construct
the first stage of Roghun, but due to disagreements about the height of the dam, it was cancelled
by Tajikistan in August 2007. In 2009, Tajikistan decided to finance the dam itself. In
January 2010, it introduced shares of Roghun with a massive campaign urging the population
to buy them. In the following months, shares worth $ 185 million were sold. After concerns
were raised by downstream countries, Tajikistan agreed to carry out an independent
assessment of the technical feasibility and the social and environmental impacts of the
project by international experts financed by the World Bank. Until the results are released
in mid-2012 at the earliest, Tajikistan is committed not to resume construction. 5
5 AsiaPlus 2011, BIC 2011, Sehring 2009, UNDP 2003, UNECE 2004, WDI, WRI
Transboundary waters in the six states of the Aral Sea
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