The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approves $ 15 million grant as a second additional funding for an ongoing project to improve water management in the Panj River Basin in Tajikistan.
The grant will finance the construction of a sediment reservoir in the Chubek irrigation system in the southern part of the country.
Among the irrigation systems in the Pyanj river basin, the Chubek irrigation system is the largest and covers an area of 50,160 hectares. Its design capacity in 1950 was 150 cubic meters per second, but the maximum water supply to the system dropped to about 80 cubic meters per second in 2013 due to system wear.
This is due to sediment deposition, poor operation and maintenance, which led to a decrease in irrigated area, reduced irrigation efficiency and low crop yields.
A sump will reduce sediment deposits in irrigation canals and reduce damage to pumps to lift irrigation water, thereby reducing operating and maintenance costs and increasing system resilience.