Tajikistan seeks $3 bln in loans from China

DUSHANBE, Nov 13 - Central Asia's poorest nation Tajikistan is seeking $3 billion in loans from neighbouring China to build hydroelectric power stations and roads, a senior Tajik official said on Friday.

"The government of Tajikistan has prepared ten investment projects worth a total of $3 billion to be financed by Chinese banks' soft loans," Abdugaffor Rakhmonov, deputy head of state property committee, told reporters.

China this year pledged $10 billion in soft loans to members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which includes Tajikistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

Tajikistan has said it expected to get $1 billion out of that but Rakhmonov said the former Soviet republic hoped for more.

"...We hope that once the feasibility of the proposed projects is assessed, investments will be multiplied," he said.

Tajikistan, still recovering from the 1990s civil war that devastated its economy, lacks funds to develop its infrastructure and overcome power shortages.