Asia and Oceania

Andritz receives contract to modernize 3,000-MW Nurek hydro plant in Tajikistan

Andritz has received an order to rehabilitate and modernize the 3,000-MW Nurek hydro plant, on the Vakhsh River in Tajikistan.
Andritz receives contract to modernize 3,000-MW Nurek hydro plant in Tajikistan

(Photo courtesy Andritz)

Andritz has received an order to rehabilitate and modernize the 3,000-MW Nurek hydro plant, on the Vakhsh River in Tajikistan.

Andritz says the objectives of this rehabilitation project are to restore the generating capacity of nine turbine-generator units, improve their efficiency and enhance the safety of Nurek Dam. After the modernization, the installed capacity of the nine generating units will be increased by about 12%.

The contract, awarded by Barqi Tojik, covers rehabilitation and modernization of the entire electromechanical equipment, including the inspection and repair of nine penstocks. Specfically, Andritz will supply and install new 380-MW Francis turbines and generators and new transformers, as well as the electrical and mechanical auxiliary equipment within the powerhouse.

The design of the new units takes into account the plant’s annual storage operations and will be suitable for operation with a wide range of heads, Andritz says.

Andritz says its contract value is just over €120 million (US$139.5 million).

According to a press release from Andritz, Nurek is the largest hydropower plant in central Asia and covers more than 70% of the electrical energy demand in Tajikistan. The plant began operating in 1972, and its dam is the second tallest in the world at 984 feet high.

Rehabilitation work has been under way for some time at this facility, with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank loaning US$60 million in June 2017 and the International Development Association approving US$225.7 million in financing in May 2017 to assist that effort.

Click here for more news on hydropower in Tajikistan.