A high-level conference on the Nurek HPP modernization project took place in Dushanbe on August 12.
The conference reportedly focused on issues related to coordination of activities of partners on attraction of investments for modernization of the Nurek hydroelectric power plant (HPP).
The conference participants included Tajik Prime Minister Qohir Rasoulzoda, First Deputy Prime Minister Davlatali Said, Presidential Adviser on Economic Issues Farrukh Hamralizoda, Finance Minister Abdusalom Qurboniyon, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Nematullo Hikmatullozoda, Minister of Energy and Water Resources Usmonali Usmonzoda as well as representatives of the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the UK Department for International Development.
$700 million are reportedly needed for modernization of the Nurek HPP that will be carried out in two stages. The project reportedly provides for replacement of all nine units and six autotransformers as well as work on reinforcement of the dam and spillways.
The Nurek Hydropower Scheme is located on the Vakhsh River, some 80 kilometers from Dushanbe. It comprises of a 300-meter high embankment dam with impervious core, two spillway tunnels in the left bank designed for an evacuation capacity of 4,040 cubic meters per second and a power plant of nine Francis units for a total installed capacity of 3000 MW and a discharge capacity of 1,350 cubic meters per second.
The construction of Nurek HPP was carried out from 1961 to 1979. The initial installed capacity of the power plant was 2,700 MW and it was then increased to 3,000 MW in 1988 through an upgrade of the hydraulic turbines.
Nurek HPP remains up to this day the key power generation facility of the country, still providing more than 70% of the total electricity generation. In this context, the question of Nurek HPP refurbishment after nearly 40 years in operation appears essential for the Tajik electric network and on a larger scale for the Tajik economy. The rehabilitation of Nurek HPP will cover the rehabilitation measures urgently required with the target to secure the plant’s production and the safety of the power complex, which includes the following: rehabilitation of electromechanical equipment, rehabilitation of auxiliary services, upgrading of instrumentation and monitoring equipment, improvement of the flood warning systems, refurbishment of hydro mechanical equipment of water intake and spillways, improvement of the flood routing capacity of the dam, etc. (Asia-Plus/Business World Magazine)