The World Bank has approved additional financing of $10 million (£7m) for a project aimed at electrifying rural areas in Tajikistan.

The Tajikistan Rural Electrification Project aims to provide access to electricity to households in remote, mountainous areas of the southern part of the country and support efforts to export electricity to neighbouring communities in North-Eastern Afghanistan.

Since 2020, the project has supported improved electricity access in two of the poorest and most remote regions of Tajikistan, which border Afghanistan – the southeastern Gorno-Badakhshan Automomous Oblast (GBAO) and the southwestern Khatlon Oblast.

Projects include renewable energy-based microgrids to use solar, wind, micro-hydro and battery energy storage systems as well as hydropower plants to help meet increased electricity demand.

Jan-Peter Olters, World Bank Country Manager for Tajikistan said: “This strategic investment supports efforts to connect households in some of the poorest and most remote areas of Tajikistan to electricity, thereby providing them with opportunities to engage in economic activities, strengthen human capital and reduce fragility risks along the border with Afghanistan.

“This objective is supported further by the ability to connect the local electricity grid with that of neighbouring communities in Afghanistan and strengthen socio-economic development on either side of the border.”

Article source: https://www.energylivenews.com/2021/04/05/world-bank-approves-10m-to-electrify-rural-areas-in-tajikistan/