ADFD loans $100m for Tajikistan hydropower

Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), one of the UAE’s oldest financial institutions, has signed an agreement to fund a project in Tajikistan, part of its wider $2 billion initiative to support global water projects. 

The fund will provide AED376 million ($102.4 million) to construct the Rogun hydroelectric power station in Tajikistan, it was announced at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported.

ADFD launched the Abu Dhabi Global Water Platform in January, allocating an initial $1 billion to be disbursed between 2026 and 2030 to develop water projects anticipated to benefit 10 million people worldwide.

Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, director-general of ADFD, said that the Rogun power station will have a storage capacity of approximately 1 billion cubic metres of water for power generation, irrigation support, and the provision of drinking water for communities, delivering a developmental impact that extends beyond Tajikistan to the broader Central Asia region.

The station is located at an elevation of 1,185 metres above sea level and supports the decarbonisation of electricity grids in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, said Tajikistan’s finance minister Faiziddin Qahhorzoda.

In December, the fund backed a $300 million project to provide potable water to the city of Kiffa and the surrounding region in Mauritania. It is expected to benefit more than 180,000 people in the initial phase, with a gradual expansion to serve up to 500,000 by 2050.

As part of its 2030 strategy, ADFD said it will support high-impact projects, particularly in critical sectors such as infrastructure, energy and electricity, agriculture, water and food security, education and health services, to help accelerate social and economic development in developing countries.

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