Nexus Regional Dialogue Central Asia // The European Union supports Tajikistan in finding innovative solutions to ensure WEF security
TAJIKISTAN, Dushanbe – On 21 October 2021, the second meeting of the intersectoral working group on the implementation of the demonstration project in the Republic of Tajikistan took place in Dushanbe to support the improvement of the control and monitoring of electricity consumption by pumping stations and the introduction of energy-saving technologies at the Golodnostep pumping station in the Sughd region. The meeting was organized within the framework of the EU-funded project "Nexus Dialogue in Central Asia" implemented by the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC).
During the working meeting, technical experts presented the results of the activities carried out during the last quarter, including the results of technical audit of 173 pumping stations and the Golodnostep pumping station. Representatives of the Agency for Land Reclamation and Irrigation (ALRI) under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MEWR) of Tajikistan agreed on the presented results and approved the action plan by the end of 2021. Based on the results of technical audits, experts will develop proposals for automation of electricity meters and modernization of the pumping station using energy-saving technologies.
The work of national experts was complemented by the efforts of experts from Grundfos, an international pump manufacturer, who shared their expertise on the possibilities of improving the energy efficiency of pumping stations on the example of the Golodnostep pumping station and will provide equipment for energy efficiency and water consumption metering.
"The deterioration of irrigation infrastructure is a very urgent problem in Tajikistan. With the expected population growth and the need for rational use of natural resources, it is necessary to introduce energy-efficient equipment and continue to improve public management mechanisms", – noted Shafoat Nazifov, Head of the Basin Reclamation and Irrigation Department of the Agency for Land Reclamation and Irrigation under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan.
More than half of the irrigated lands of Tajikistan requires machine irrigation due to the mountainous terrain of the country. In this regard, the agricultural sector uses 90% of water resources and 10% of the country's total electricity consumption for pumping stations. Irrigated land produces about 80% of agricultural products, while agriculture creates jobs for 70% of the population and accounts for 20% of the country's GDP. But the pumping stations built in the 50-70s of the last century have undergone considerable wear and tear, the infrastructure lacks energy-saving equipment, which makes it difficult to calculate the electricity consumption. The low solvency of the population and high subsidization of the sector make the irrigation sector unprofitable.
The demonstration project will be implemented between July 2021 and February 2022, with the political support of ALRI and MEWR, and the technical support of the project “Laboratory of Innovative Solutions for the Water Sector of Central Asia” under the Central Asia Water and Energy Program (CAWEP). CAWEP is a partnership between the World Bank, the European Union, Switzerland (through SECO) and the United Kingdom (through DFID) to strengthen the enabling environment to promote energy and water security at regional level and in the beneficiary countries.
The second phase (2020-2023) of the European Union project "Central Asian Dialogue to Promote Sectoral Financing through the Water-Energy-Food Nexus" is a continuation of the first phase (2016-2019) and is being implemented by the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC). The project is part of the global Nexus Dialogue Programme, which is supported by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in five regions.
This project is funded by the European Union.
This article was first published on the CAREC website on October 21, 2021.
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