DUSHANBE, April 15, 2016, Asia-Plus – Tajikistan has ratified a concession agreement between the Government of Tajikistan and Malaysia’s HOS Powertech Sdn Bhd on construction of a coal-fired power plant in Isfara district of Sughd province.

Speaking at the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament), Qodir Qosim, Chairman of the State Committee on Investments and State-owned Property Management (GosKomInvest), noted on April 15 that Germany’s Fichtner Group will conduct feasibility studies for construction of the Shurob power plant and modernization of the Shurob coal field in Sughd’s Isfara district.

According to him, 400 million U.S. dollars will be spent for implementation of the first phase of the project.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s news website The Star Online reported on June 30, 2014 that a little-known HOS Powertech Sdn Bhd has got the mandate from the Tajikistan government to build a 300 MW coal-fired power plant to be located next to a coal field in that country.

HOS Powertech executive chairman Datuk Subramaniam Ratnavelu said in an interview with The Star Online that the company had sealed a 30-year concession pact with the government to build a power plant and modernize a coal field in October 2013.

“We have to modernize and improve production on the Shurob Coal Field and build a power plant there,” he said, noting that HOS Powertech, of which he owns almost 95%, had appointed the Fieldstone Private Capital Group as financial advisers and the Fichtner Group as technical consultant for the power plant project that is scheduled for completion in 2018.

Subramaniam estimated the plant to cost about US$500 million and said that they hoped to leverage on the improved production and listing of the coal field to help with the financing of the project.

Subramaniam said the Shurob coal field had proven reserves of 144 million tons.  However he said that there were other coal pits in the Shurob area with reserves estimated at more than 500 million tons.