The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will fund up to €31 million for Tajikistan’s transmission network operator, Shabaqahoi Intiqoli Barq (SIB), to upgrade the electricity substation in the country, the bank announced Wednesday.
Once upgraded and expanded, the substation will increase the sustainability of the electrical grid, which will be able to meet both growing domestic demand and demand for electricity exports.
The project, which the Sustainable Infrastructure Fund is also supporting with up to €2 million, will help SIB integrate up to 700 megawatts of renewables in line with Tajikistan’s 2030 National Development Strategy aimed at diversifying its energy production.
It will also help to ensure a smooth introduction to the grid of pilot renewable energy projects in the region.
Supported by grant funds from the Sustainable Infrastructure Fund and the Japan-EBRD Cooperation Fund, the project is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the Sugd region by 129,000 tonnes annually.
“This undertaking builds on the EBRD’s recently completed Sugd energy loss-reduction project, which demonstrated the effectiveness of modern metering and billing systems by reducing network losses in the region’s main city of Khujand from 27% to 10% and by improving payment collections to nearly 100%,” the bank revealed.
As part of the project, the bank will work on a capacity-building program at SIB to support the further development of a secure and resilient electricity system.
To date, the EBRD has invested €919 million through 165 projects in Tajikistan.
