With 15 Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) projects currently implemented, Tajikistan is making significant progress in developing its infrastructure and public services across key sectors such as transport, energy, and water. By the end of 2024, the PPP Council of Tajikistan plans to add six new PPP projects to the pipeline valued at USD47 million, which are expected to provide a significant boost to the economy, including creating more than 100 new jobs.
To further enhance its PPP environment, attract critical financing, and promote socioeconomic development, the Government of Tajikistan is updating its legislation on PPPs and Concessions, as well as developing a “State Programme on Promoting PPPs in Tajikistan for the Period up to 2030”. These important reforms and achievements were announced at a training session recently held in Dushanbe, co-organized by UNECE and the PPP Center under the State Committee on Investments and State Property Management of Tajikistan.
At this event, Mr. Sharaf Sheralizoda, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Tajikistan to the United Nations in Geneva, emphasized the importance of ensuring that Tajikistan’s PPP and infrastructure projects not only create value for money but also contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by using UNECE PPP standards and tools, such as UNECE’s flagship PIERS methodology.
The primary objective of this event was to train public officials in Tajikistan on the use of the PIERS methodology, a practical tool designed to assess the sustainability of PPP and infrastructure projects. The training, attended by 40 participants from various ministries, agencies and local authorities involved in PPPs and infrastructure development in Tajikistan, marked the beginning of a new UNECE capacity building initiative to facilitate the dissemination and promotion of the PIERS methodology in Tajikistan.
In the coming months, the UNECE will identify a number of PPP and infrastructure projects in Tajikistan and evaluate them using the PIERS methodology. These evaluations will benefit Tajikistan by demonstrating the alignment of its PPP and infrastructure projects with the SDGs, thereby attracting the interest and confidence of investors seeking projects with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) credentials.
The UNECE support to Tajikistan is part of a capacity building project “Green, circular and resilient public private partnerships in support of the SDGs for transformational change in Africa, Central Asia, Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean”, jointly implemented with ECA and ECLAC to implement PIERS in six UN Member States.