Heavy Hydropower Investment To Make Tajikistan Regional Energy Exporter, Moody's Says

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 2. Tajikistan is making significant progress in leveraging its vast hydropower potential to address domestic energy shortages and become a major electricity exporter, Trend reports via Moody's.

The nation, which has started winter power rationing since September 2024 due to supply constraints, is heavily investing in large-scale hydropower to secure its energy future. A major milestone was the World Bank (IBRA, Aaa stable) approval of a $350 million grant for the first phase of the Rogun Hydropower Project in December 2024. Upon completion in 2035, the Rogun facility will have an electricity generation capacity of over 17 billion kilowatt-hours a year on average, with 70 percent of its output to be exported to neighboring countries.

This project's viability has been strengthened by new power purchase agreements with the governments of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in 2024 and external financing from a wider group of development partners. A key component of this strategic shift is improved regional energy connectivity.

"With improving dialogue with development partners, Tajikistan rejoined the Unified Power System of Central Asia in June 2024, enhancing regional grid reliability and enabling seasonal balancing of electricity and water needs," reads Moody's report.

This reconnection will help reduce electricity shortages in both Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan during the autumn-winter period.

Furthermore, the CASA-1000 project, a $1.2 billion initiative to export surplus hydropower from the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan (Caa1 stable), is scheduled to be partially operational by 2025. "The project offers opportunities for hydropower-rich countries like the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan to expand electricity exports," the report notes.

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