Construction of the Rogun HPP

The project of the Rogun HPP in Tajikistan began to be implemented in 1976, when the Soviet Gosstroy approved the relevant documents. The Tashkent "Hydroproject" was responsible for the development of the plan. From the very beginning it became clear that the construction of this hydroelectric power station would be extremely difficult. The station was to be built in the difficult natural conditions of Central Asia.

Problems of the project

The Rogun hydropower plant has been threatened and threatened by several factors. Firstly, this is a high seismic region. Small earthquakes occur here regularly. They are not terrible for the HPP, but if the unexpected cataclysm is too strong (as it was in the distant 1911), then the most important element of the dam, its target, will be under threat of destruction.

Secondly, builders had to break through building tunnels in fragile and loose rocks. Thirdly, under the bottom of the river Vakhsh there is a fault containing rock salt. The appearance of a dam may lead to seepage of water and erosion of the seams. The designers of the Rogun HPP had to take into account all these factors. The Soviet leaders did not want to refuse to build the station, since it had to play an important economic role in the life of Central Asia.

Soviet construction

Although the construction of the Rogun HPP was very difficult, the hydro-builders managed to find solutions that helped to soften all acute angles. It was considered necessary to supply water under high pressure around the rock salt bed, while a saturated solution would be fed into the formation itself. This decision was the most acceptable in the current situation. Due to him it was supposed to avoid dissolution of salt.

Earthquakes are terrible disasters. Everyone knows this in Tajikistan. Rogun HPP was designed on the assumption that it will be able to withstand any earthquake. For this, the body of the dam was made loose and complexly structured. For the core used loam and gravel. This was done in order to soft rocks fill the voids and cracks that occur during an earthquake.

Beginning of work

The first builders arrived in Rogun in the fall of 1976. The sites for their work were built at an altitude of more than 1,000 meters. The place chosen for the Rogun HPP was deaf enough at that time. The distance between the construction site and the nearest railway station was 80 kilometers. The equipment needed for the new infrastructure was supplied from all over the country. Hydro turbines and transformers were manufactured in Ukraine, while hydroelectric generators were made in far Sverdlovsk. More than 300 Soviet enterprises were responsible for the composition of Rogun HPP facilities.

The city of Rogun, in which the builders of the station settled, was erected from scratch. Multi-storey houses, a kindergarten, a school - all this was not here before they began to implement an ambitious energy project. Heating of buildings was carried out by electric boiler-houses.

The builders began constructing the hydroelectric power station from tunneling through loose, fragile rocks, where there was a lot of pressure. After the felling and roughing were carried out, these tunnels were carefully concreted. In total it was planned to break through 63 kilometers. Builders came to meet each other from two sides. Felling was conducted in the middle. For this, additional mines were used.

Tunnels and dam

For ten years, the Rogun hydropower station, which was in its infancy, the photos from the construction of which began to fall into Soviet newspapers, practically did not change, since all this time the tunnel was pierced. To speed up work and save money, it was decided to use not classic quarry trucks, but huge conveyors. According to experts, thus the treasury managed to save about 75-85 million rubles.

The construction of the dam began in 1987. On December 27, the Vakhsh River was closed. In 1993, the height of the jumper was already 40 meters, and the length of the tunnels reached 21 kilometers. The transformer and machine rooms were almost completely ready. However, the work was never completed. Due to the collapse of the USSR, the emergence of economic problems and other factors, construction was conserved.

Accident of 1993

In 1993, the Roghun hydroelectric plant suffered a serious accident. A few years after the closure of the river Vakhsh river there was a washout of the construction jumper. The reason for this was the most powerful floods. As a result, unfinished sewage tunnels and rooms of the engine room were flooded.

Of course, any hydro power plant must cope with the loads, even if they are caused by unprecedented floods. In the course of the proceedings it became clear that the catastrophe would not have happened if it were not for the organizational miscalculations of the leadership responsible for the construction. Today Rogun HPP (August 2016 became for it another month of active preparatory work) has other owners, however in 1987 the formal customer was Tajikglavenergo. There was a conflict between this structure and the construction directorate. As a result, his Ministry of Energy of the USSR removed from the work of people who were previously responsible for meeting deadlines. Confusion and confusion led to the fact that the overlapping of the river occurred too early. The organizers were in a hurry, fearing a breakdown, but time showed that such a rush was a mistake.

Similar incidents

The Rogun hydropower plant is most often compared to another hydropower plant in Tajikistan - the Nurek. This hydroelectric power station was launched in 1979. During the operation, several minor accidents occurred on it.

Much more painful than comparing the Rogun hydropower plant with Sayano-Shushenskaya. The accident that occurred at the last was of a clearly pronounced technogenic nature. Then 75 people died. The builders and contractors of the Rogun hydropower plant are convinced that they took into account the experience of these catastrophes, and the hydropower plant will no longer face emergency situations, as happened in 1993.

The modern stage

Due to the difficult situation in Tajikistan, the Rogun HPP has been frozen for ten years. Only in 2004, the country's authorities concluded a contract with the Russian "Rusal" on the continuation of the construction of the station. At the company's expense, the drowned halls were drained. However, further cooperation of the parties has come up against serious problems. The company and the government could not agree on the technical aspects of the project, including the height of the dam and its design type. In 2007, the contract with "Rusal" was terminated.

After that, the Tajik authorities decided to finish the construction of the hydroelectric power station, applying for help to the World Bank. In 2010, an agreement on the international examination of the project was signed. Her contractor was a Swiss company. The open joint-stock company "Rogun HPP" was established. Today it is it that continues the construction of the hydroelectric power station.

Dissatisfaction of Uzbekistan

The almost completed Rogun HPP, whose capacity is 3,600 megawatts, is a hydropower plant belonging to the dam type. Six hydraulic units are installed in the building. After completion, the dam forms a new reservoir. The height of the HPP is 335 meters (if the project is implemented, the hydroelectric power plant will become the highest in the world). According to experts, the cost of construction is more than 2 billion dollars.

The state of the Rogun hydroelectric power plant is now being criticized from many different angles. The main claims are reduced to choosing a dam location, that is, to the risks that were known in Soviet times. However, responsible persons assure that mudflow and landslide processes, seismic activity and other natural factors will not damage hydroelectric power stations in any way.

The most criticism is heard by the authorities of Uzbekistan (the Vakhsh River is a tributary of the Amu Darya flowing through the territory of Uzbekistan). This means that the violation of a single runoff can affect the ecological situation in the neighboring republic. The government of Uzbekistan several times expressed its disagreement with international commissions that declared that the hydroelectric power station can still be completed.

Ecological factor

Possible violations of the operation or construction of the Rogun hydropower plant can cause environmental and social risks. In Uzbekistan, where the Amudarya flows, the situation is aggravated by the drying out of the Aral Sea, caused by the improper use of natural resources in the Soviet era.

The construction of dams always contributes to the acceleration of soil erosion. Even more problems will create flooding of lands located on the territory of the proposed reservoir. The change in river flow regime will affect not only the flow, but also the temperature regime. Reservoirs are silted, which leads to the appearance of organic and mineral deposits. They enrich the soil, but impair fertility in the lower reaches of the river (that is, in Uzbekistan).

Atom and consortium

Disputes give rise to proposals for alternatives to solutions to the region's energy and environmental problems. So, Uzbekistan even tried to involve Russia and the European Union in participating in a new project to build a common nuclear power plant that could cover the needs of several countries in Central Asia (including even Pakistan, Afghanistan and India). So far, this initiative has led to nothing.

Of course, in such a global issue, decisions are made by officials. However, real experts, primarily environmentalists, believe that the conflict around the station is too politicized. The problem is that each country belongs to its river as a property, while all the water resources of Central Asia are interconnected within a single river system leading to the Aral Sea. That is why ecologists propose to create an energy consortium, which, in addition to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, should include Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. However, no real steps have been taken in this direction so far.

Rogun and Sarez

Some opponents of the construction of the Rogun power station offer to direct resources to another project related to the Lake of Sarez. It arose in 1911 after a catastrophic earthquake and a collapse of rocks, resulting in the formation of a natural dam that blocked the bed of the Bartang River. The lake also belongs to the Amu Darya basin. If for some reason (for example, due to a second earthquake) the natural dam collapses, a colossal wave will reach the Aral Sea, causing irreparable damage to many cities of three countries at once (Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan).

Many ecologists suggest using the resources of Lake Sarez for energy purposes, thus saving the republic from a deficit, and ending the conflict with its neighbors. Rogun, HPP (in 2016 became an anniversary for it), Sarez - all these objects continue to cause controversy and heated discussions. Supporters of the Sarez project convince that over a hundred years there has already developed an ecological balance, which means that its water resources can be used without damage to nature. In the case of Rogun, the "stress" environment has yet to be tested, even if the launch will take place according to all the rules.

Importance of a hydroelectric power station

For many years Tajikistan has been experiencing serious problems with hydrocarbon energy resources. In particular, numerous conflicts with Uzbekistan and "gas wars" of neighbors are associated with this problem.

That is why the Rogun hydroelectric power station is so important for the republic, which has a constant energy deficit. Tajikistan is protecting the project by such arguments. Rogun HPP (2016 - already 40 years of construction, together with interruptions) remains the idea of fixing for a poor country, pouring all its resources into it.