ADB announces loan to avert disaster

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has earmarked a loan of US $5.3 million to help avert a disaster following a landslide in the south of Tajikistan, a move hailed by aid workers in the impoverished Central Asian country. "The amount of work involved and the cost is not something emergency aid agencies can take on unfortunately," humanitarian officer for the Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Andrea Reccia, told IRIN on Thursday from the Tajik capital, Dushanbe. The Vakhsh river, at the stretch located in the southern Khatlon Oblast (province), was blocked by a landslide after an earthquake in early March 2002. Since then, the landslide has been moving at speed varying between a few millimeters to a centimetre a day and there is an imminent danger that sudden movement will completely block the river and submerge the Baipazinskaya Hydro Power station. "The river could rise and completely cover the power station," he added. Severe deforestation makes hilly regions of Tajikistan more susceptible to devastating landslides. Maintaining reliable flows in the Vakhsh river is vital for Tajikistan and the downstream countries of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Any blockage of the river would disrupt five hydroelectric power stations. "In the worst case scenario, 90 percent of the electricity-generating capacity of Tajikistan could be at risk," Xavier Humbert, ADB's Energy Specialist told IRIN from the Philippino capital, Manila. "In addition, blockage of the Vakhsh river would endanger water supply to downstream users for agriculture, industry, and drinking water and disrupt water supply to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan," he said. The objective of the project is to restore water flows in the Vakhsh river to at least pre-earthquake levels and to initiate disaster prevention measures such as cutting back and benching the slope immediately above the landslide to reduce the load and remove material that could fall loose. Under the agreement, Tajikistan will be provided with earth-moving equipment along with some monitoring equipment. Money for a feasibility study for a long-term solution is also part of the loan. The river was last hit by a landslide in the same place in 1992. At that time the river bed was cleared by firing rockets from an army helicopter. The ADB will finance 80 percent of the total project cost and the loan will have a term of 32 years, including a grace period of 8 years, with an interest charge of one percent per annum during the grace period and 1.5 percent thereafter. There are no conditions placed on the loan as it is part of emergency response.