Tajikistan launches giant dam for power export to Pakistan, 16 November 2018

Tajikistan inaugurated on Friday a $3.9-billion hydroelectric power plant, a mega project that will enable the impoverished country to eliminate domestic energy shortages and export electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan...

The first of six turbines in the Rogun hydroelectric dam went on line on Friday, with the power plant expected to reach capacity of 3,600 megawatts - the equivalent of three nuclear power plants - when completed...

The project overseen by the Italian company Salini Impregilo has a number of risks.

Observers warn that Tajik authorities do not appear to concern themselves with the environmental sensitivities of Rogun, given Rahmon's close involvement.

Rogun is located "in a highly seismic area and several geological studies have warned about the risks of building such a large dam in this setting," Filippo Menga, a lecturer in human geography at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, told AFP...

Speaking ahead of the launch, Deputy Head Engineer Sukhrob Ochilov summed up the celebratory mood surrounding the keystone project.

"I have been waiting for this moment," he said. "Rogun coming online means the construction of new factories, economic progress and jobs for our people."