OSCE supports newly-established “State Service for Supervision over Hydro Technical Facilities” under Government of Tajikistan

A half-day roundtable expert discussion to enhance the technical capacity on dam safety of the newly-established “State Service for Supervision over Hydro Technical Facilities” under the Government of Tajikistan was supported by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan on 6 May 2015. This activity was jointly conducted with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

The event brought together some 50 participants from the Agency of Irrigation and Land Reclamation, Ministry of Water Resources and Energy, State Committee for National Security, State Committee for Safety in Industry and Mining, Tajik Hydrometeorology Agency as well as participants from Kairakum, Vakhsh, Sangtuda-1, Sangtuda-2, Nurek, and Varzob hydropower plants. Representatives from Tajik electricity utilities such as “Pamir Energy” and the state owned “Barki Tojik”, and international organizations also took part in the event.

“The water sector reform in Tajikistan changed the organisational setup of state institutions for increasing management efficiency and it is planned to endow the new State Service with the help of experts from the Russian Federation and Tajikistan with the necessary know how that the agency will be able to conduct its work in line with the latest international standards,” said Tajikistan’s First Deputy Minister of Water Resources and Energy, Sulton Rahimzoda

Martin Rossmann, Head of the Economic and Environmental Department at the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, said: “The regulations based on the new law on dam safety will enhance the security of the population living close to power or pump stations but will also maximise operational efficiency of the hydraulic infrastructure in the Republic of Tajikistan in case of disaster or accidents.”

Participants discussed the key ideas and best practices of dam safety laws and regulations both at national and international level, which has contributed to the identification of an activity plans for the State Service for the next five years.