In Tajikistan, 15 years ago, on January 6, 2010, in order to continue the construction of the Rogun hydroelectric power station, a wide sale of shares to the population began. A total of 890 million somoni were raised from the sale of shares. What happened to these funds, and when will shareholders be able to benefit from them?

The government issued 5 million securities worth 6 billion somoni. For this purpose, more than 580 points of sale of shares were opened in branches of the state bank «Amonatbonk» throughout the country. Citizens and legal entities of the republic could purchase shares in cash or through bank accounts.

According to the presidential decree, the sale of shares was supposed to be voluntary, but in practice there were cases when the authorities forced subordinates to buy securities. Even students were forced to purchase shares worth 100 somoni.

The shares were sold at par of 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 somoni. Only shares with a par value of 5000 somoni were registered, the remaining – were ordinary. The difference between registered and ordinary shares was that the name of the buyer was indicated on the registered shares, and he was not entitled to sell them to another person, and the sale process had to be carried out through the stock exchange.

The government reported that 22 thousand registered shares and 2 million ordinary shares were sold.

What did the funds go to?

It should be noted that in 2010, the campaign for the sale of shares and certificates of shares of OJSC «Rogun HPP» ended only after the intervention of the representative office of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF warned Tajikistan that raising so much could slow the country’s economic growth by 1% and reduce investment in the private sector.

«This process could temporarily slow down economic growth as the population cuts its spending on stock purchases and companies reduce their investments», – said the head of the IMF mission in Tajikistan, Axel Schimmelpfennig, in April of the same year at a meeting with Emomali Rahmon.

According to reports, in the two months after raising funds for shares, 2% of the total amount of «was absorbed by » inflation. Subsequently, the Republic’s Ministry of Finance concluded that 175 million somoni of these funds would be transferred in the form of loans to the country’s five commercial banks at an annual interest rate of 10%.

A year after the loans were issued, then Finance Minister Safarali Najmiddinov announced that loans placed in commercial banks brought in 11.9 million somoni profits.

According to the authorities, the funds raised have already been spent – they were used to purchase equipment for the construction of the facility.

Creation of JSC «Rogun hydroelectric power station»

As a result of the sale of shares, the joint-stock company «Rogun hydroelectric power station» was created, which today is considered one of the largest joint-stock companies in Tajikistan.

According to the company’s charter, income from shares of the «Rogun» hydroelectric power station will be paid only after the station is fully put into operation. Until then, shareholders cannot claim profits or sell these shares to the public.

Only after the full commissioning of 6 units of the Rogun«hydroelectric power station and the official completion of its construction will shareholders be able to extract income from these securities.

Every year there is a meeting of shareholders of «Roguna», at which the project management reports to shareholders on the work done.

Other sources of funding

Initially, the government planned the construction of the Rogun hydroelectric power station using internal funds, including the sale of shares. However, it was later announced that investments would be raised for the construction of this facility.

In 2021, the government of the republic turned to international partners to raise capital.

Emomali Rahmon said in a conversation with the builders of the «Rogun» hydroelectric power station that between 2008 and 2024 the government allocated more than 42.5 billion somoni for the construction and restoration of the hydroelectric power station from the state budget and other sources.

In particular, in January 2023, the Board of Directors of the World Bank approved non-repayable financial assistance in the amount of $15 million to improve the efficiency of the implementation of the Rogun«hydroelectric power station project. In February 2023, an agreement was reached with the Islamic Development Bank to fund the project for $150 million, including the grant portion.

In May 2023, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (China) announced a concessional loan of $500 million. In December 2023, the Saudi Development Fund signed an agreement to provide a $100 million loan to continue construction of the «Rogun» hydroelectric power station.

In 2024, for the construction of the «Rogun» hydroelectric power station, the World Bank will allocate $350 million in the form of a grant, the Islamic Development Bank – $150 million, Arab funds – $400 million, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank – $270 million.

In addition, an agreement was signed to attract a preferential loan in the amount of $500 million with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (China).

Emomali Rahmon announced that the next unit of the Rogun hydroelectric power station will be put into operation in 2025.

The President noted that over the past two years, more than 9 billion somoni have been spent from the state budget on the construction of «Roguna».

According to him, to date, more than 50% of construction work at the «Rogun» hydroelectric power station has been completed.

«The government of the country is taking all possible measures to timely finance the construction of this strategic facility», – added Emomali Rahmon.

How much does the project cost?

Since 2008, the cost of implementing the Rogun«hydroelectric power station project has changed several times. If in 2008, at the time of the resumption of the project, its cost was estimated at $3 billion, then in 2016, during an international tender to select a general contractor for the construction of the dam, the cost of the facility was announced at $3.9 billion.

In 2022, the Republic’s Ministry of Energy announced that more than $5 billion would be needed to continue construction of the hydroelectric power station.

According to the Ministry of Energy of Tajikistan, $1 billion is required annually to continue construction work within the approved schedule, and $6.2 billion is needed to fully implement the project.

The launch of the station’s latest unit is scheduled for 2029. Full completion of the station is planned for 2033.

Shoira Kudrat («ASIA-Plus»)