From the first days of independence, Tajikistan made the development of its energy sector and the use of its vast hydropower resources a cornerstone of national policy, President Emomali Rahmon said during a speech marking the country’s 35th Independence Day on Sept. 8 in Dushanbe.

Emomali Rahmon said Tajikistan has invested heavily in transforming its energy infrastructure over the past 35 years, completing 36 state-funded projects worth 30 billion somoni and launching another 20 projects valued at 23 billion somoni.

The construction of the South-North high-voltage transmission line and a network of major substations linked the country’s entire territory into a single electricity grid, he said.

During the independence era, Tajikistan built 300 large and small hydropower plants, commissioned the Dushanbe-2 Combined Heat and Power Plant and expanded solar energy projects. The Sangtuda-1 Hydropower Plant and Sangtuda-2 Hydropower Plant alone, built at costs of 8.5 billion and 3.2 billion somoni respectively, added more than 2,300 megawatts of generating capacity, bringing the country’s total installed capacity to 6,700 megawatts.

The president said Tajikistan has also focused on modernizing existing infrastructure. The Kairakkum Hydropower Plant has been fully rehabilitated at a cost of more than 2 billion somoni, while reconstruction of the Nurek Hydropower Plant is underway under a two-phase, 6.6 billion somoni program. Modernization work also continues at the Sarband Hydropower Plant under a 1.5 billion somoni project.

More than 22 billion somoni has been allocated during the independence period for building new power plants,including Sangtuda-1, Sangtuda-2 and the Dushanbe Combined Heat and Power Plant as well as upgrading existing facilities.

Looking ahead, Rahmon said Tajikistan plans to accelerate its shift toward renewable energy. Two solar power plants with a combined capacity of 500 megawatts are scheduled to begin operating in the Asht District and Jaihun District by November.

At the center of the country’s long-term energy ambitions is the Rogun Hydropower Plant , which Emomali Rahmon described as Tajikistan’s defining energy project of the independence era.

«I am confident that with the steady continuation of construction at the Rogun Hydropower Plant and the commissioning of its third generating unit in 2027, Tajikistan will achieve energy independence by fully supplying its population and national economy with electricity,» Emomali Rahmon said. «At the same time, we have decided to transform Tajikistan into a fully green country by 2037 through the widespread use of renewable energy sources and the introduction of green technologies.»