The loan will complete a program of investment that began in 2014 with financing from the EBRD, Austria and the United Kingdom and the Climate Investment Funds’ Pilot Program for Climate Resilience. The government of Austria is again funding technical cooperation support.
The new financing will fund the second and final phase of the rehabilitation and modernization of the 60-year old QHPP which provides electricity to 500,000 people. Measures will include concrete dam works and the installation of hydraulic steel components, turbines and electromechanical equipment for the four hydropower units.
The full rehabilitation will increase the plant’s installed capacity from the current 126 MW to 174 MW. The upgrade will introduce innovative climate resilience measures enabling the plant to cope with the expected impact of climate change on the hydrology of the country.
Tajikistan is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Its glacial hydrology and, by extension, its hydropower sector are highly sensitive to the impacts of climate change and the project offers a model of how carefully designed investments can make hydropower more resilient.
Photo: Qairokkum hydro power plant supplies electricity for more than 500,000 people.
