The state-run paper said one could accept such decision if the Tajik government would review the project documentation and examined by the international independent experts. The paper underlined that during the USSR period, there was no practice on carrying out audit and independent expertise.

The leadership of the World Bank has on more than on occasion stated, at the highest level, that it backs the idea of setting up an international commission of independent experts to carry out necessary examinations of the Rogun construction.

In his response to the Uzbek president’s query on 15 April 2009, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the following: "An investigation (into the project) will be carried out by internationally recognized consulting companies, which will be set up in line with World Bank procedures.

"In accordance with our internal procedures, the bank will establish an international commission of independent experts who will make an independent conclusion on the results of the investigation.

"To ensure transparency and to consider issues that are of concern to all the interested parties, the World Bank will continue holding consultations with all the interested countries in 2009-10 - at a time when investigation results will be prepared and considered by the international commission of independent experts and by the interested countries."

On 3 February, the Uzbek side sent a message to the Tajik prime minister, calling for an independent examination of Rogun.

However, a response received from the Tajik Prime Minister shows that the Tajik government is not disposed to hold an expert examination and believes that it is not expedient.

At the same time, the Tajik Prime Minister believes that those preliminary consultations held by the World Bank with the region’s interested governments on preparations for the task to carry out a full-scale investigation into and examination of the Rogun project are enough. In this connection, the prime minister sees no need for further cooperation with the World Bank on the issue.

The prime minister’s another statement that the German company Lahmeyer carried out an expert examination of Rogun at the request of the Russian company Rusal in 2006 does not conform to reality.

The agreement signed between Rusal and Lahmeyer stipulated working out a feasibility study for the power plant construction, but not for carrying out a full-scale examination of the project.

In fact, Lahmeyer did not deal and could not have dealt with safety issues regarding environmental and man-made disasters, as it did not focus on this.

There is the need to emphasize again that, in the Uzbek side’s view, the aim and essence of holding an impartial international examination of the Rogun power plant project is, above all, to exclude such a man-made catastrophe as the one that took place at Russia’s Sayano-Shushenskiy hydroelectric power plant in 2009.

The projects of both Rogun and Sayano-Shushenskiy were drawn up by the same project institutions in the same years and an expert examination will identify the impact of the Rogun construction on the region’s environment and water resources. The paper also drew attention to that Rogun dam is higher that Russian one and Tajikistan locates in high seismic region.

A quite reasonable question arises: What is hindering the Tajik government from agreeing to carry out an independent international examination of Rogun - a large-scale water facility - in full compliance with international norms.

Moreover, the Tajik government is required to spend nothing for this, as the funds are envisaged to be allocated by a World Bank grant for these purposes. The paper said Tajik side is fearing that independent expertise cast doubt on expediency of funds, spent to construction of the object.

The Uzbek side hopes that it will manage to convince the Tajik side of the need to carry out an international independent examination of the Rogun power plant project and only after examination the construction of the object will continue.