DUSHANBE - A Tajik minister accused Russian aluminium giant Rusal of breaking a commitment to pump major investment into hydropower and aluminium production in this Central Asian country.
The comments by Tajikistan's Minister for Energy and Industry Sherali Gulov reflected deepening differences with Moscow over Dushanbe's hopes of selling hydropower to southern neighbours such as Afghanistan and Pakistan.
'Rusal has done nothing. Not one point of our agreement has been fulfilled by Rusal,' Gulov said at a news conference.
Rusal, he said, was failing in its commitments to complete work on the Soviet-era Rogun hydropower station, to build a new aluminium factory and to renovate an existing aluminium plant -- commitments signed during a visit here in 2004 by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
'In 2007, Tajikistan will start building Rogun with its own money. There are foreign companies and countries interested in participating in this project -- a lot of candidates,' said Gulov.
Rusal had been expected to invest some 2 bln usd in the mountainous Central Asian country, which has few natural resources apart from its potential as a hydropower producer.
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