Day: February 1, 2023

Tajik foresters are expected to plant Paulownia trees in a 1000-ha area within the next five years in the hope to have big profits. The tree is also recommended to be grown by the rural population and farmers

For one cycle of four or five years, one hectare of Paulownia trees can bring in millions of somonis.

The Forestry Agency under the Government of Tajikistan has developed the project to create ecological plantations to grow fast-growing paulownia trees for 2023-2027.

“For this purpose we brought about 20,000 Paulownia seedlings from Spain two years ago and grew from them seedlings ready for planting,” Abdujabbor Yusufzoda, Director of the Forestry Agency, told reporters in Dushanbe on January 31.

The tests have been successfully completed and 99% of the plants have adapted to the conditions Tajikistan, Yusufzoda added.

Paulownia is a genus of seven to 17 species of hardwood tree (depending on taxonomic authority). They are present in much of China, south to northern Laos and Vietnam and are long cultivated elsewhere in eastern Asia, notably in Japan and Korea.

In China, it is popular for roadside planting and as an ornamental tree. Paulownia needs much light and does not like high water tables.

Paulownia is extremely fast growing; up to 6 meters in one year when young. Some species of plantation Paulownia can be harvested for saw timber in as little as five years.

Paulownia is also used in Chinese agroforestry systems because it grows fast, its wood is light but strong, its flowers are rich in nectar, its leaves make good fodder for farm animals, it is deep-rooting, and it is late-leafing and its canopy is quite sparse so that crops below it get both light enough to grow and shelter.

Paulownia trees produce as many as 20 million tiny seeds per year. However, the seeds are very susceptible to soil biota and only colonize well on sterile soils (such as after a high temperature wildfire). Well-drained soil is also essential. Successful plantations usually purchase plants that have been professionally propagated from root cuttings or seedlings. Although seeds, seedlings, and roots of even mature trees are susceptible to rot, the wood is not and is used for boat building and surfboards.

Trees can grow to maturity in under 10 years and produce strong, lightweight timber, good as firewood, with an even higher strength to weight ratio than balsa wood.

In Japan, paulownia is the mon of the office of prime minister, and also serves as the Government Seal of Japan used by the Cabinet and the Government of Japan (whereas the chrysanthemum is the Imperial Seal of Japan). It is one of the suits in the card game hanafuda, associated with the month of November or December (some regions reverse the order of these two months).

Paulownia wood is very light, fine-grained, and warp-resistant. It is the fastest-growing hardwood. It is used for chests, boxes, and clogs (geta). The wood is burned to make charcoal for sketching and powder for fireworks, the bark is made into a dye. The silvery-grey wood is sliced into veneers for special visiting cards.

Source: Asia Plus

Tajik authorities are introducing electricity rationing in rural areas starting from today. Meanwhile, residential customers in rural areas complain that contrary to president’s decree they have not received uninterrupted power supplies so far.

Source: Asia Plus

In a report released at a news conference in Dushanbe, Tajik Air (Tajikistan’s national air carrier) Director Parviz Shodmonzoda noted on February 1 that Tajik Air dry-leased two Airbuses from Turkiye in late December last year and hopes to resume flights.

“Proposals on resumption of flights and confirmation of the use of the leased aircraft have been sent for consideration to Prime Minister Rasoul Qohirzoda and Tajik Air’s Supervisory Board,” Tajik Air top manager told reporters.

“If the proposals are approved, the aircraft will be delivered to Tajikistan and the company will resume flights,” Shodmonzoda said, noting that it is hoped that the Supervisory Board will approve the proposals. Asked about the problem of payment of the company’s, he said: “First we need to resume flights and then the question of the company’s debts will be discussed.”

Tajik Air has not operated flights since September 2020 due to technical and financial problems.

According to Tajik Air top manager, Tajik Air’s current accounts receivable amount to 60.1 million somonis (equivalent to more than 60 million US dollars) and its current accounts payable amount to 449.3 million somonis (equivalent to 44 million US dollars).

It is to be noted that Tajik Air’s accounts payable include a US$20 million debt to Lithuanian UAB Skyroad Leasing.

In early December 2022, Tajik Air and Tajikistan’s privately owned Somon Air were exempt from paying value added tax (VAT) when importing aircraft (planes and helicopters), engines and fuels and lubricants for them into the country. The companies were reportedly exempt from paying VAT for the period until 2027.

It is to be noted that currently only one domestic air carrier, Somon Air, operates in Tajikistan’s civil air traffic market.

The national air carrier, Tajik Air, has not been in operation for already years as it does not have aircraft suitable for this.

Tajik Air (Tajikistan Airlines) has its main hub at the Dushanbe airport, and it retains a secondary focus point at the Khujand airport. The company started operations on September 3, 1924 as Tajik Aviation. Its first route was Bukhara to Dushanbe, served by Junkers F-13 aircraft. It is the sixth oldest airline still in operation. Until 2008, Tajik Air had an absolute monopoly in Tajikistan’s air transport, owning all planes, airports, and airport and flight services. As a result of restructuring, Tajik Air was split up into several separate companies.

Source: Asia Plus

Tajikistan’s privately owned air company, Somon Air, to resume flights from Dushanbe to Urumqi, the capital of China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

Somon Air Director-General Abdulqosim Valiyev said this at a news conference in Dushanbe on February 1.

According to him, the first flight on this air route is scheduled for February 8.

“First we will operate once-weekly service and starting from March, this flight is expected to operated twice a week,” Valiyev said.

Somon Air is the first private airline in Tajikistan with an office headquartered in Dushanbe. The airline operations are based at Dushanbe International Airport. The airline started operating on February 5, 2008 with regular flights to Moscow and Dubai. Somon Air also serves as the official carrier of President of the Republic of Tajikistan and other Tajikistan high-ranking officials.

Somon Air is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Somon Air's fleet consists of Boeing 737-800 and 737-900 family aircraft. The company is focused on expanding the route network of air transportation and the fleet, and currently operates regular flights from Tajikistan to Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Turkiye, China, India, Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Source: Asia Plus

In a report released at a news conference in Dushanbe, Ilhomjon Oimuhammadzoda, the head of the Main Geology Directorate under the Government of Tajikistan, revealed on February 1 that ten new gold deposits have been explored in the country.

Source: Asia Plus

The estimated budget for construction of the Tajik section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan (TAT) railway project will be determined after completion of the feasibility study TAT railway project will be determined after completion of the feasibility study, the Minister of Transport Azim Ibrohim told reporters in Dushanbe on February 1.

He further noted that specialists from the Republic of Korea are engaged in carrying out preliminary work necessary for preparation of the feasibility study for construction of the Jaloliddin-Balkhi – Jaihoun -- Panji Poyon railway.

According to him, the length of Tajik section of the TAT railway project is 50 kilometers. The project also includes construction of a one-kilometer railway bridge across the Panj River.

The minister added that all expenses for the development of the feasibility study will be covered by the South Korean government.

Recall, a special working group of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) was in Tajikistan last month to study the issue of attracting foreign investment to fund the feasibility study for construction of the Jaloliddin-Balkhi – Jaihoun -- Panji Poyon railway.

Tajikistan reportedly applied to the KOICA on the issue of attracting South Korean investment for implementation of the feasibility study for this project back in September last year.

This railway is a part the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan (TAT) railway project. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for construction of the rail link connecting the three countries was signed during a trilateral meeting of the presidents of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan that took place in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat on March 20, 2013. The 400-kilometer railroad is expected to connect the Afghan town of Akina-Andkhoy to Atamurat-Ymamnazar in Turkmenistan and Panj in Tajikistan.

The presidents of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan officially inaugurated the construction of the railway connecting the three nations on June 5, 2013. The ceremony took place in Turkmenistan’s northeastern province of Lebap. The presidents buried a time capsule with a message to future generations under the first section of the railway line near the town of Atamyrat.

TAT railway will be a part of a broader regional transportation initiative that will open a new transit corridor between Central Asia and world markets through Indian Ocean ports, a route less than half as long as Central Asian existing railway export options through Russia to the Baltic Sea coast. It is expected to diversify the transport routes of Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

Source: Asia Plus

There are three phosphate rock deposits and fifteen manifestations of phosphate rocks in Tajikistan, Ilhomjon Oimuhammadzoda, the head of the Main Geology Directorate under the Government of Tajikistan, told reporters in Dushanbe on February 1.

According to him, the total possible reserves of these deposits and manifestations are more than 65 million tons.

“Tajikistan will start development of these deposits and manifestations for production of mineral fertilizers” Oimuhammadzoda said.

Phosphorites found in Tajikistan reportedly contain various elements -- microfertilizers from which phosphate flour can be obtained and superphosphate can be produced.

It is to be noted that no one company in Tajikistan is currently engaged in developing phosphate rock deposits and processing phosphate rocks.

Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals.

Approximately 90% of rock phosphate production is used for fertilizer and animal feed supplements and the balance for industrial chemicals. In addition to phosphate fertilizers for agriculture, phosphorus from rock phosphate is also used in animal-feed supplements, food preservatives, baking flour, pharmaceuticals, anticorrosion agents, cosmetics, fungicides, insecticides, detergents, ceramics, water treatment and metallurgy.

Source: Asia Plus