Tajikistan is considering engaging China Gezhouba Group International Engineering to implement two hydropower projects in the Zeravshan River basin. Tajikistan’s Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Daler Juma, and Mao Guohua, General Director of the company’s Eurasian Marketing Department, discussed prospects for cooperation in Dushanbe.

We are talking about the construction of the Aini hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 160 MW and the Yavan hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 100 MW.

According to the Ministry of Energy of Tajikistan, the parties discussed expanding bilateral cooperation in the energy sector and confirmed their readiness to advance both projects.

However, the agency did not specify the specific role the Chinese company might assume. The projected construction cost, funding sources, and start date have also not yet been announced.

According to TAUZ Hydro , the Aininskaya HPP’s design capacity is 160 MW. Its estimated annual output is 669 million kWh, with a guaranteed output of 602 million kWh.

The project has been under study for over 15 years. The initial studies began in January 2010 and were conducted by the Iranian company Farab under a memorandum between Tajikistan and Iran. The station is planned to be built on the Zeravshan River.

The 100 MW Yavan hydroelectric power plant is planned for construction in the Ayni district of the Sughd region. Its average annual output is expected to be 429.3 million kWh of electricity. The plant is designed to operate during the base load period.

Thus, when both projects are implemented, their total installed capacity will reach 260 MW, and the estimated annual output will be almost 1.1 billion kWh.

Together with Uzbekistan

The project to develop the hydroelectric resources of the Zeravshan River has been discussed by Tajikistan and Uzbekistan since 2018. At that time, the construction of two joint hydroelectric power plants was envisaged in a joint statement by Presidents Emomali Rahmon and Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

In June 2021, the governments of the two countries signed an agreement to establish a joint venture, prepare a feasibility study, construct, and subsequently operate hydroelectric power plants. TAUZ Hydro JSC was established to implement the project .

The Tajik side owns 50% plus one share of the company, while the Uzbek side owns 50% minus one share. The generated electricity is expected to be distributed equally between the two countries.

In June 2022, the presidents of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan symbolically launched the construction of the Yavan hydroelectric power station during a ceremony in Tashkent .

At that time, the plant’s capacity was estimated at 140 MW. However, current documents from the Ministry of Energy of Tajikistan and TAUZ Hydro indicate a capacity of 100 MW. No official explanation for the change in design capacity has been published.

During the 2022 ceremony, it was also reported that the Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development had expressed interest in financing the project. However, no agreements on construction financing have yet been announced.

The project is in the preparatory stage

Hydropower Sustainability Alliance specialists conducted a preliminary assessment of the Yavan HPP project from May 31 to June 5, 2024. At the time of the assessment, the project was in the preparatory stage and at the preliminary feasibility study level.

Experts concluded that the Yavan hydroelectric power station can be designed, built, and operated with an acceptable level of environmental, social, and management risks. The station is expected to operate using a run-of-river design, and its construction will result in limited population displacement, as the main part of the facility is located in a narrow canyon.

At the same time, experts recommended a more detailed study of the possible consequences of erosion and sediment accumulation, the impact on the aquatic ecosystem, the future operating mode of the station, corporate governance issues, and climate risks.

ADB has expressed interest in the projects

In October 2025, the projects for the construction of the Yavan and Aini hydroelectric power plants were discussed at the Ministry of Energy with a delegation from the Asian Development Bank .

TAUZ Hydro management presented bank representatives with information on the projects and the preparatory work completed to date. Following the meeting, the parties expressed their willingness to facilitate their implementation. No specific ADB decision regarding the plant’s financing was announced.

However, official sources list different names for the second station in the Tajik-Uzbek project. A statement from the Ministry of Energy of Tajikistan from October 2025 and a statement from the agency from July 24, 2026, refer to the Yavan and Ayni hydroelectric power plants.

At the same time, an article by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, published in November 2025 , reported on the progress of cooperation on the construction of the Yavan and Fandarya hydroelectric power plants on the Zeravshan River.

No official clarification has yet been published on how the Aini and Fondarya hydroelectric power station projects are related, whether they are separate projects, or whether the parameters of the joint program have been changed.

What is known about China Gezhouba?

China Gezhouba Group International Engineering is part of the China Gezhouba Group, a major Chinese contractor in energy and infrastructure construction. The group is a subsidiary of the state-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation (Energy China) .

The company builds hydroelectric power plants, dams, power plants, roads, and other infrastructure projects. Its international hydroelectric projects include the Kakulo-Kabasa hydroelectric power station in Angola , the 800 MW Mohmand hydroelectric power station in Pakistan , and the Poiga-2 hydroelectric power station in Indonesia .

The parent corporation, Energy China, operates in the energy, power, and infrastructure sectors. According to the company , its operations span over 140 countries and regions.

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