The energy sector is of crucial importance to Tajikistan’s economy and population. Hydropower is furthermore one of the few promising export potentials the country has. However, due to outdated infrastructure, low tariffs and inadequate billing systems, both the electricity and the gas utilities cannot cover their costs and allow companies to invest into improving quality of the services. The Government of Tajikistan and the donor community alike have identified the improvement of the financial viability of these utilities as a top development priority. Without the energy sector becoming financially sustainable, the necessary reform of the utilities will be held back and any development and major foreign investment in the sector remain unlikely.

The World Bank and the Government of Tajikistan have jointly developed a project, which aims to create a solid economic basis for both the electricity and the gas sectors. In June 2005, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved an Energy Loss Reduction Project (ELRP) for the Republic of Tajikistan. This project is funded by the World Bank in the amount of $ 18 million, of which $ 15 million is a credit and $ 3 million is an grant.

Upon request from the Government of Tajikistan, the Swiss Government through its State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has co-financed the ELRP with a grant in the amount of $ 8 million. The ELRP corresponds well to SECO’s strategic orientation in Tajikistan, which focuses on rehabilitation and development projects in the electricity sector and the participation in the energy policy dialogue with the GoT. The Swiss Grant will be allocated to cover expenses related to following activities: partial procurement of electric meters and related materials, installation of billing systems, consulting services for project engineering, management and supervision.

The project will help reduce commercial losses in Tajikistan’s electricity and gas systems and will lay the foundation for improvements in the financial viability of the electricity and gas utilities, in a manner that will take into account the interests of all of the country’s population groups.

The Electricity Component will supply and install new electrical energy meters in the Dushanbe electricity network, and design, procure and install the Electricity Billing System. Technical Assistance (TA) will be provided for project implementation, financial management auditing and electricity exports promotion.

The Gas component will supply and install gas meters and the gas billing system, and in addition, TA will support project implementation, financial management auditing and the establishment of an industry-standard gas import agreement with Uzbekistan.
The TA component will support the implementation of electricity and gas tariff policies, the implementation of Social Protection Policies regarding energy reforms and monitoring and evaluation of the Barki Tajik and Tajik Gas performances.

Contacts:
Swiss Cooperation Office in Tajikistan

Mr. Ruslan Sadykov
National Program Officer
for Infrastructure
3, Tolstoy Street, Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Phone: +(992 37) 224 73 16
Phone/ Fax: +( 992 44) 600 54 55
e-mail: dushanbe@sdc.net; Ruslan.Sadykov@sdc.net
web: www.swisscoop.tj; www.deza.ch; www.seco-cooperation.ch