Tajikistan – Sarez Lake: project presented to the authorities and green light to the civil work

A delegation of CAE representatives has recently visited Tajikistan within the framework of the SAREZ LAKE MONITORING and EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS project, previously introduced on this magazine. As the contract is under full implementation, the CAE delegates and its local partner have carried out a series of technical and operating meetings with the Tajik Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense, the beneficiary authority responsible for the project execution, to fine tune logistics, installations and training procedures.

On July 2^nd, the project has been illustrated to local and international authorities and to the press during an official presentation at the headquarters of theCommittee of Emergency Situations in Dushanbe. Representatives of renowned institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (main financer of the project), the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank, the European Union and the Swiss Cooperation Office attended the event which witnessed contributions from: 

• Mr. Rustam Nazarzoda, Head of the Committee of Emergency Situations;
• Mrs. Shanny Campbell, ADB Country Director for Tajikistan;
• Mrs. Firuza Tursunzoda, Project Manager, National Disaster Risk Management Project;
• Mr. Federico Pasquini, CAE Director of International Sales.

Mr. Pasquini presentation illustrated the composition and purpose of the system, walking the audience through the different components and instruments. 

The following week the delegation, led by CAE project manager Simone Colonnelli, transferred to the lake to conduct surveys of the sites where the instrumentation will be installed and oversee the start of civil works. Sarez Lake, which is located on the altitude of 3260 m above the sea level among the mountains in Bartang valley, Pamir, can only be reached by helicopter or by an 8-hour trekking through the valley.

The outcome of the recon has allowed to define the exact location and composition of the different monitoring sites, adjusting it to the challenging environment of Sarez lake, which for the most part of the year features extremely low temperatures and few hours of daylight, while being not covered by any communication network other than satellite.

The completion of the project, which is considered of strategic importance for the country of Tajikistan, is expected over the course of the summer.



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