DUSHANBE, May 16, Asia-Plus  -- President Emomali Rahmon yesterday addressed a meeting of regional administrators of the Sughd province in the city of Khujand, the regional center.  The meeting was held to sum up overall socioeconomic development of the province in the first four months of this year.  

In an address to the meeting, the president criticized poor work of local industrial enterprises.  He, in particular, noted that the volume of production of electrical power and natural gas, as well as production of industrial goods has decreased in the region over the report period. 

During the meeting, it was noted that 72 of 235 industrial enterprises in the province have reduced the production volume in January-April.  Moreover, another 31 enterprises have not been in operation over the same four-month period.  The production volumes of gold-mining companies Zerafshan and Aprelevka have decreased as well.  

The head of state charged the ministry of energy and industries, local authorities and heads of enterprises to take adequate measures to introduce modern low-cost technologies and fill markets with domestic high-quality industrial goods.  

Dwelling on joint-sock companies operating in the province, the president noted that 99 enterprises with foreign investments have been registered in northern Tajikistan so far.  However, many of them do not work and instances of violation of laws have been revealed at them.

Rahmon charged the ministry of energy and industries, the state committee for investments and management of state-owned property and local authorities to take measures to intensify work of those enterprises; otherwise, requirements of the bankruptcy law will be used against them.  

Dwelling on the energy issues, Rahmon set the following tasks:

-                           To conduct feasibility study for construction of small power plants in the mountain area, and with attraction of both foreign and domestic investments, to construct thermal power plants that would work on coals of Shurob and Fon-Yaghnob fields;

-                           To rehabilitate and modernize the Qairoqqum hydropower plant;

-                           To speed up construction of power grid South-North and substation Khuajnd-500 and put them into operation ahead of schedule;

-                           With attraction foreign and domestic investments, to work out the project for construction of a 500kW power grid Khujand-Kyrgyzstan-Almaty (Kazakhstan);

-                           To reintroduce into operation the Chkalovsk heat and power plant and construct similar heat and power station at the town of Shurob;

-                           To increase production of coals and organize new shops for realization of liquefied gas and coals;

-                           To take timely preparations to ensure the regular of the province’s economy during autumn-winter 2008-2009;

-                           To take adequate measure to improve the rate of the collection of funds for consumption of electricity and natural gas and repair power plants in order to minimize power losses;

-                           To introduce economical technologies and electrical equipment;

-                           To organize three-shift operation of industrial enterprises in June-October. 

The president also expressed concern about increasing debts for electricity and natural-gas consumption in the province.  The Sughd electricity and natural-gas debts currently amount to 48 million somonis and 58 million somonis respectively.  

He also pointed to the region’s failure to develop the agrarian sector.  Rahmon noted that at present some 60 percent of food products are imported into northern Tajikistan from abroad.  

The president expressed concern about increasing debts of cotton farmers, noting that the Sughd cotton farmers now owe 33 million somonis to their creditors.  He underlined the importance of a new mechanism to fund the cotton sector. 

            Addressing the meeting, Rahmon also outlined priorities for banking system, as well as health care and education sectors.