Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Nov. 2 / Trend D. Azizov /
The statements made by Tajikistan about the filling of the Rogun hydroelectric power station's reservoir are invalid and aim to mislead the international community, Deputy Chief of the Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy Ministry's Water Resources Balance and Water-Saving Technologies Development Department Vohidzhon Akhmadjonov wrote in article today.
In his article, "Appeals must be supported by credible facts," on the Uzbek Foreign Ministry's website, the author wrote that Tajik Foreign Minister Khamrokhon Zarifi and Land Reclamation and Water Resources Minister Rahmat Bobokalonov falsely stated that "the reservoir will be filled within 17 years due to the Tajik quota of water resources and this will have no impact on downstream rivers of the country." He added that the claims are "absurd."
After the station is constructed, the reservoir will be filled within 7-8 years - initially up to the level of the dead volume, and then to meet designed pressures and rates. This means that the Vakhsh River will return to the vegetation period in June-August, Akhmadjonov said.
He also wrote that the specialists of the German Lahmeyer company came to the same conclusions regarding the schedule of filling the reservoir during their feasibility study in 2006.
It is worth recalling that Tajikistan frequently referred to the the feasibility study as independent environmental expertise, he wrote. However, now they pretend to forget about the technical findings of these foreign experts when the issue concerns filling the reservoir.
According to the same company's calculations, joint energy work at the station, together with the Nurek hydroelectric power knots, are insufficient to cover water scarcity in Uzbekistan during droughts.
"This system of water reservoirs is very real if we take into account that electricity generated by the station will be put on sale and Nurek will be forced to operate in a modern regime, covering Tajikistan's own energy needs," he said.
Akhmadjonov added that there are doubts about the calculations of Tajik diplomats concerning the volume of water resources in the Aral Sea basin, including those contained in the reservoirs.
There are 55 reservoirs with a total volume of 19.8 cubic kilometers in Uzbekistan. About five cubic kilometers are unused. The used volume has hit about 15 cubic kilometers. The total volume of only two reservoirs in Tajikistan - Nurek and Kairakum - is about 15 cubic kilometers.
"The mathematical calculations Zarifi concerning the actual volumes of water in the Aral Sea and the water accumulated in the Uzbek reservoirs must be corrected," he said. "It is not difficult to obtain real data on the water situation in the region at the current level of development of information communication. According to the recent estimates, the current level of the Aral Sea is more than 70 cubic km. A comparison of figures 15 and 70 is elementary arithmetic. The used volume of water reservoirs in Uzbekistan is almost five times less than the current level of the Aral Sea."