Funding concerns on huge Rogun dam emerge as Webuild hits construction milestone

The news comes as reports emerge that the World Bank has paused funding for the project, which has been decades in the making.

If completed, the Rogun Dam, which sits at 1,000m above sea level, will eventually reach a height of 335 metres, making it taller than what is currently the world’s tallest dam, the 305m-tall Jinping-I Dam in China.

Webuild reported that it has so far placed approximately 13 million cubic metres of embankment material to form the dam’s body. Of these, approximately 3.5 cubic metres of clay material were used for building the dam’s impermeable core.

Meanwhile, 180,000 linear metres of injections have been carried out to consolidate the foundation of the dam and its abutments, and to build the hydraulic curtain within the abutments.

Once complete, the dam would have an installed capacity equivalent to three nuclear reactors and will supply energy to 10 million people, doubling Tajikistan’s energy capacity. Around 70% of the country’s population currently experience electricity outages, particularly during winter.

But Webuild’s update of its progress on the project and its announcement that it was nearing the 100m milestone came amid reports that the World Bank may have paused funding on the project.

The dam’s construction has had a long and troubled history stretching back to Soviet times. Construction started in 1976 but was abandoned in 1993 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The project eventually restarted in 2016 and Webuild (then known as Salini Impreglio) was appointed to carry out the works.

The World Bank approved $350 million in funds for the project in late 2024 but according to Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta, it has frozen funds until Tajikistan’s government meets a number of conditions.

The move comes after a World Bank inspection report published in April this year that raised concerns around the environmental risks to people living in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River.

The report also noted that another US$6.3 billion is required to complete the dam, of which $2.14 billion will come from the state budget, $1.25 billion from revenue from the sale of electricity, and $2.9 billion in the form of grants and concessional loans from 10 development partners, of which the World Bank is one. It is due to provide another $300 million to the project in June 2026.

The World Bank is reported to want to see a sound financing plan and commitments from neighbouring states to buy electricity produced by the dam before it resumes funding of the project.

Webuild said the dam would transform the “energy scenario” not just of Tajikistan but of central Asia as a whole.

Tajikistan President Emomalī Rahmon, recently visited the construction site with Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda, a delegation of ministers, government executives and representatives of project client OJSC Rogun HPP. According to Webuild, President Rahmon “testified to the project’s strategic importance” during the visit.