Azerbaijan, Baku, April 11 / Trend V. Zhavoronkova, T. Jafarov /
Iran intends to export gas to Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and China, Iranian Ambassador to Tajikistan Aliasgar Sherdust told Trend on Wednesday.
"According to the agreement reached by the heads of Tajikistan, Iran and Afghanistan in Dushanbe, a pipeline from Iran to Tajikistan through Afghanistan and further to Kyrgyzstan and China will be built," said Sherdust.
He noted that two weeks ago the presidents of Iran and Afghanistan visited Tajikistan and at a joint meeting, among other things, discussed the issue of gas exports from Iran.
The President of Tajikistan appealed to Iran for help in connection with the difficult situation caused by the gas shortage in the country, the diplomat said.
The ambassador said the sides have been for several years discussing the implementation of projects on transportation of electricity and water, and finally, following negotiations of the three countries a document on this issue was signed.
The pipeline, an intention on the construction of which was confirmed by signing this document, will be used for the transportation of energy carriers, he said.
In addition, he said, the parties plan to build a pipeline to transport water from Tajikistan to Iran via Afghanistan.
Sherdust also said the three countries also agreed to improve roads and railways, as well as construct a system for the exchange of electricity between Iran and Tajikistan.
The ambassador noted that in the spring and summer Tajikistan has surpluses of electricity, while in the winter there is surplus of electricity in Iran. The new system for the exchange of electricity will enable the two countries to exchange electricity surpluses.
Concerning the cooperation between the two countries, Sherdust noted that economic cooperation between Tajikistan and Iran has been actively developing for last years.
He said it is observed in both the private and public sectors.
"The Iranian private sector in Tajikistan is mainly engaged in agriculture, industry, cement production and construction of small power plants," said the diplomat.
He said the Iranian government is cooperating with Tajikistan in such areas as construction of Sangtuda-2 hydroelectric power station with capacity of 220 MW.
This station is located 70 km from Dushanbe, and its first phase, which produces 110 MW, was put into operation in September 2011.
Sherdust said Iran invested $240 million in the construction of this facility.
"Tehran is well aware of the potential of Tajikistan, in particular in the field of hydropower, and a special program to attract future investment in this area was prepared in this sector," said the ambassador.
He said that as an example it may be noted that Iran intends to build a new power plant, similar to Sangtuda-2, a preliminary agreement for the construction of which was signed by the presidents of Tajikistan and Iran.
"We hope that after completion of the Sangtuda-2, labor and equipment will be deployed for the construction of a new hydroelectric power station," the diplomat said.
Due to its potential and, together with technology, finance and labor of Iran, Tajikistan will be able to become a regional exporter of electricity, Sherdust believes.
This energy can go from Tajikistan to Afghanistan, Iran and through Iran to other countries, he added.
The ambassador said that according to studies, Tajikistan uses effectively only five percent of the water resources while the remaining 95 percent goes from Tajikistan to neighboring countries.
Construction of a hydroelectric power station, in his opinion, has advantages both from an environmental point of view and in terms of cost of electricity produced, so the two countries' cooperation in this area is a priority.