Several development banks have recently come to Tajikistan, planning to invest in Tajikstan's energy security‚ which Tajikistan really needs. Last year, energy distribution problems precipitated a closure of Dushanbe's bakeries; the resulting bread riot (really a woman's sit-down demonstration) underscored the past-due need for energy infrastructure investment in Tajikistan.
At neweurasia.net, Gulru has written this winter has been "the hardest winter yet" since Tajikistan gained independence, with only two to three hours of heat per day in residences.
One of the great things about Gulru's post is that it underscores the difference between knowledge and capability. In the post, Gulru advocates specific energy conservation technology at the household level. Such thinking underscores that Tajikistan's people have the will to build a contemporary economy, and a clear expectation that they can help themselves. Yet it is difficult to implement your best ideas when your first priority has to be physical survival. Ultimately, infrastructural aid promotes economic growth, better education and medical care, more newspapers, and more food.
Uzbekistan's gas pipeline malfunction precipitated October's bakery demonstration, but interrupted distribution from Uzbekistan is an old story for Tajikistan (and Kyrgyzstan). In the spring, Uzbekistan gladly accepts water for agriculture and hydroelectric power from its upstream neighbors. When winter comes, should any aspect of the Tajikistani-Uzbekistani relationship go amiss, heating fuel cutoffs are a nearly immediate sign of Karimovian displeasure. Water does, after all, flow downhill, but gas pipelines are controlled by valves. Ergo, Uzbekistan's ability to play tit-for-tat is a lot greater than Tajikistan's.
The Asian Development Bank formed its Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) division in 1997. So far, CAREC has financed several regional studies that coordinate road and train transport, power plant and electrical grid development, improving old infrastructure and building new. The plan presupposes regional cooperation as necessary to overall regional development. In general, the CAREC agreement has been sponsored by China through the ADB. China's trade with Central Asia has increased from 1997's USD 1 billion to 2005's USD 9.8 billion. In October of last year, Central Asian states agreed to cooperate on certain aspects of the CAREC plan.
This month, The Brookings Institution's Wolfensohn Center for Development in the US has allied with the CAREC group, to provide consulting in inter-regional cooperation.
The Eurasian Development Bank arrived on March 2, 2006, to talk over a new Dushanbe office and discuss new energy infrastructure financing.
[See previous post- Newest Central Asian development bank].On March 5, Li Jun, vice president of China Export-Import Bank met with President Ehmomali Rahmonov to discuss a USD 2.67 billion loan for two major electric transmission lines, the North-South and the Lolazar-Khatlon line. China is also financing the Dushanbe-Chanak road construction project. (RFE/RL Newsline, No. 42, March 6, 2007).
Hopefully, all these new deals will keep Tajikistan's bakery ovens hot.
Photos: Oxfam, Jeff Barbee
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
