Italian contractor Salini Impregilo has signed a framework agreement worth $3.9bn to build the world’s tallest dam in Tajikistan.
The Rogun project consists of a 335m-high rockfill barrier with a clay core. It will be situated on the Vakhsh River where it passes through the Pamir mountain range in north-central Tajikistan (pictured)
The agreement is between Salini Impregilo and OJSC Rogun Hydropower, the state-run company that is coordinating the project. The scheme will be built in a series of phases, the first of which has been given to the Italian firm. The other three are expected to be assigned to Salini in the next three months.
A map of Tajikistan (Hausibek/Wikimedia Commons)
Once completed, the plant will have six turbines of 600MW each, and will double energy production in the country. Pakistan and Afghanistan have already declared their intention to buy energy generated at Rogun, and other neighbours are expected to do the same. Â
Read more about the Rogun Dam project here.
Image: The Vakhsh River (Irangeologist/Wikimedia Commons)
