DUSHANBE, September 5, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has reportedly signed an agreement with the Ministry of Energy and Industries of Tajikistan on setting up a 100 MW hydroelectric power plant (HPP) in Tajikistan.

According to press release issued by BHEL on September 5, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Tajik Minister of Energy and Industries Gul Sherali and BHEL in the presence of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Government of India.

BHEL will set the 100 MW HPP on the Zarafshon River in northern Tajikistan.  The plant is expected to help in harnessing Tajikistan’s hydro potential.

BHEL will use its diverse experience in hydro power plants to offer the optimum techno-economic solution for the project, press release said.

“In Tajikistan, BHEL has earlier commissioned a Hydro Generator for Pamir-1 project in Khorog and is presently executing renovation, modernization and uprating of Varzob-1 Hydro Power Project.  The latest partnership highlights BHEL’s continued support to Tajikistan’s vision to develop its Hydro Energy sector which constitutes 4% of the total Hydro resources of the World and re-emphasizes the Tajik Government’s faith on the capability of BHEL which has a strong presence in the Central Asia and CIS region with references in Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine besides Tajikistan.”
Established in 1964, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is an integrated power plant equipment manufacturer and one of the largest engineering and manufacturing companies in India in terms of turnover.  It is the 12th largest power equipment manufacturer in the world. In the year 2011, it was ranked ninth most innovative company in the world by US business magazine Forbes.  It is one of India''s nine largest Public Sector Undertakings or PSUs, known as the Navratnas or ''the nine jewels''.   
BHEL’s global references spread across 75 countries and include the entire gamut of BHEL’s products such as power plants (Thermal, Gas and Hydro), turbines, generators, sub-stations, transformers, motors, photo-voltaic equipment, oil-field equipment, etc. The cumulative overseas installed capacity of BHEL manufactured power plants exceeds 9,000 MW across 21 countries. BHEL is currently executing various power plant projects in as many as 20 countries to install about 5,000 MW of generating equipment.