Uzbekistan still dithers whether or not to participate in the construction of the Rogun hydropower station

Uzbekistan is still considering the possibility of participating in the construction of hydropower plants in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Ruslan Mubarakshin, first deputy chairman of the board of Uzbekenergo, told Kun.uz.

“Questions on construction are under consideration. There are proposals to participate in the construction of hydropower plants from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. We are actively working with them until the final decision is made,” Mubarakshin said.

The fact that Uzbekistan can take part in the construction of the Rogun hydropower plant was discussed in a joint statement by the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Emomali Rakhmon, signed after the talks in Dushanbe in March 2018.

The construction of the Rogun dam officially started at the end of October 2016 after the death of the first president of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov, who had opposed the hydro project for many years, claiming that the dam would reduce the flow of water to the fields of Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan is also considering the possibility of cooperation in the construction of the Kambarata-1 HPP in Kyrgyzstan. This issue was on the agenda of the talks between presidents of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in 2017. The construction of the hydropower plant has been stopped since the end of 2015, after the former president of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev announced the termination of the construction agreement with the Russian company RusHydro.