PowershortageshavealwaysbeenamajorprobleminTajikistan,inspiteofitsabundanceofnaturalresources.Hydropowerstations(themainpowersupplysource)cannotmeetthedemandsofthedrywinterseasonwhenrollingblackoutsoftenoccur.Buildingmorepowerstationsisanurgenttaskforthegovernmentbecauseelectricityshortagesareconstrainingthecountry’seconomicandsocialdevelopment.
EasingElectricityShortages
Facilitatedbythegovernmentsofbothcountries,Tajikistan’sMinistryofEnergyandIndustrysignedacontractwithXinjiangTebianElectricApparatusStockCo.,Ltd.(TBEA)tobuildtheDushanbeNo.2powerplant.ConstructionbeganinOctober2012.
LANDMARK
XisaidthatthiswasalandmarkprojectofChinaTajikistanpracticalcooperation,andasymboloffriendshipbetweenthetwopeoples.
TBEAadoptsadvancedtechnologiestoguaranteethelevelsofpollutantsemittedduringconstructionmeetinternationalstandardsanddonodamagetheenvironment.TBEAhashadalong-termcooperativerelationshipwithTajikistanforsometimenow,andhasundertakenseveralcontracts,includingtheconstructionofa500kVhigh-voltagepowertransmissionandtransformationproject.Mutualtrusthasbeenestablishedbetweenbothsidesthroughyearsofcooperation.
Inordertocompletetheprojectasquicklyaspossible,morethan1,000Chinesetechniciansandworkershavelaboredassiduouslytoovercomevariousdifficulties.Thetwogeneratingunitsofthefirstphasewerestartedatthebeginningandmiddleof2014respectively–sixmonthsaheadofschedule.Theseworkers’effortshavethusgreatlycontributedtoimprovingDushanbe’spowersupply.
Thesecondphaseisexpectedtobecompletedattheendofthisyear.Withanestimatedgrossgenerationcapacityof2.2billionkWhperyear,thepowerplantwillresolve60percentofelectricityshortagesinTajikistan,andsupplyheattoanareaof4.3millionsqmeters(70percentoftheareacoveredbyDushanbe’sheatingservices).
TBEAprojectdirectorXiaoZhipointedatarowofdevicesontheroadside,tellingmethatthecompanyhasadoptedadvancedtechnologiesincludingdustcollectionwithelectrostaticbags(whichcancollectupto99.95percentofdust)anddesulfurationbywetprocesses(whichcouldbeupto95percenteffective).Thelevelsofpollutantsemittedduringconstructionmeetinternationalstandardsandaremonitoredinrealtime,anddonotdamagethelocalenvironment.
Greatimportancehasindeedbeenattachedtoenergysavingandenvironmentalprotection.Atwincircuit220kVtransmissionlinehelpstoreduceelectricalenergyloss.Furthermore,ashisrecycledandreused,bringingextraeconomicbenefitstotheplant.
LandmarkPracticalCooperationProject
AsakeycooperativeenergyprojectaimedatpromotingeconomicdevelopmentandbenefitingthepeopleofTajikistan,theprogressoftheTBEApowerplanthasbeencloselyfollowedbytopleadersinbothcountries.DuringhisstatevisittoTajikistaninSeptember2014,ChinesePresidentXiJinping,alongwithhisTajikcounterpart,EmomaliRahmon,attendedthecompletionceremonyofDushanbeNo.2thermalpowerplant’sfirst-phaseproject,andthegroundbreakingceremonyofthesecond-phaseprojectinTajikistan’scapital.XisaidthatthiswasalandmarkprojectofChina-Tajikistanpracticalcooperation,andasymboloffriendshipbetweenthetwopeoples.Rahmonobservedthatthethermalpowerplanthasincreasedthecapacityforself-sufficientenergyinTajikistan.Itisthusamodelforhigh-levelcooperationbetweenthetwocountries.
Localpeoplehavealsoexpressedgratitude.Mr.KasimovworksatTBEA’sTajikistanbranch,andpreviouslyworkedasanenergyexpertattheTajikMinistryofEnergyandIndustry.Hesaidthatwhilethepowerplantwasunderconstruction,theChinesecompanysentseveralgroupsofTajikemployeestoXi’an,China,forprofessionaltraining.Heishappytoseethattheyarenowcompetentspecialistsintheirfield,andthemainstayofthepowerplant.“MyChinesecolleaguesandIwitnessedtheestablishmentofthisplant.Iammostimpressedwiththeirprofessionalismandwiththeadvancedequipmentusedintheplant.I,alongwithallDushanberesidents,amverysatisfied!”
AccordingtoWangJian,headoftheTBEA’sbranchinTajikistan,theChineseconstructorisdeeplygratifiedbythelocalpeople’swelcomeandsupport,andfeelsgreatlyhonoredtocontributetothebuildingoftheSilkRoadEconomicBelt,andtherebyfacilitatinginternationalproductioncapacitycooperation.
XIEYAHONGisaspecialcorrespondentwithPeople’sDailyreportingfromTajikistan.