E. Rahmon launched Rogun dam construction

On October 29, 2016 Tajik president Emomali Rahmon officially launched the construction of the dam. At the ceremony, the river’s flow was ceremonially closed and diverted through the reconstructed diversion tunnels. The construction of the dam is expected to take two years, with the first turbines coming online in late 2018.

Rogun was listed as the highest dam in the world — 335 meters , which will make it the highest earth-and-rockfill dam in the world.
Rogun HPS will be the ninth hydro power station in the chain of power stations on the Vakhsh River in southern Tajikistan.
HPS will be located 110 km south from Dushanbe.

The Rogun HPP project was divided into four lots comprising the entire work, from the dam to the hydroelectric plant. The first lots foresee the diversion of the Vakhsh River that will be done with confluence of two diversion tunnels in a mountainside in order to keep the foundations of the dam dry. It is a very complex task that, because of the strength of the river, will only be able to be done during the winter months when the mountains are covered in snow and the water level is lower.
Once completed, the plant’s energy will be produced by six turbines of 600 MW each that will have an installed power of 3,600 MW (the equivalent of three nuclear plants) when operating at full capacity.

The project is broken down into 4 components.
In the beginning of July 2016, Tajikistan announced that Italian company Salini Impregilo had won a $3.9 billion contracts to build the Rogun dam.

Upon completion of Rogun HPS there will be a reservoir behind it with total capacity of 13.3 km3, and surface area – 10,3 km3.
Rogun HPP is essential to reduce the lack of energy that occurs in winter and affects thousands of families and their need for light and heating. The project could contribute to the development of agriculture because it would allow for a more efficient use of water for irrigation.
But the biggest impact that the new dam will have will be on the country’s energy potential, allowing Tajikistan to become a point of reference in the region.

Uzbekistan has voiced concern that the dam will reduce water flows to its cotton fields but E. Rahmon assured that no one among the neighbors would be affected.