BIC’s Europe and Central Asia program has issued a briefing note on the proposed Rogun Dam, currently being assessed by the World Bank, with several potential funders looking into the project.
In 2010, the World Bank agreed to fund techno-economic and environmental and social assessments for the potential Rogun Hydroelectric Power Project, intended to be the largest dam in Central Asia. These assessments seek to determine if the project is viable and if so, who among several potential funders including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Russia, and China will invest. Rogun HPP was originally conceived in the Soviet-era, and some aging infrastructure and assessments exist for the project. The new assessments funded by the World Bank will focus on the present-day viability and potential impacts of completing the structure.
The government of Tajikistan, an impovershed country that experiences severe energy shortages in winter, views Rogun’s completion as the key to becoming a regional energy supplier; whereas downstream neighbor Uzbekistan has expressed concerns that changes to river flow may impact cotton production.