The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide grant aid to the government of Tajikistan to enhance the country’s energy sector and road network sustainability.

Appropriate gran agreements were signed in late December.   

The ADB on December 4 approved a $105 million grant program to accelerate the implementation of ongoing reforms and improve the financial sustainability of the power sector in Tajikistan.  

The reforms include unbundling the vertically integrated power utility Barqi Tojik into three independent companies responsible for power generation, transmission, and distribution; restructuring Barqi Tojik’s excessive liabilities; establishing a new power sector regulator; adopting a tariff methodology; and setting up a new centralized cash control system among the unbundled entities. As part of the reforms and institutional capacity building, a newly established power distribution company will be operated under a 5-year management contract by an internationally reputable company with experience operating power utilities.

Besides, the ADB in November approved a US$67.49 million grant to enhance the safety and reliability of the national road network in southern Tajikistan and promote the economic participation of women in the area.

The project is aimed at rehabilitating two existing national road sections in the Khatlon province: from Danghara to Oqmazor (28.7 km) and from Hulbuk to Kangurt (59.5 km), which currently support traffic volumes of 4,200 vehicles and 1,300 vehicles per day, respectively.

The project will help the Ministry of Transport operationalize a road asset management system by developing a data inventory of the country’s arterial highways and train staff to collect and analyze condition data.  The database will enable the government to prepare annual maintenance plans and ensure adequate budget for maintenance.