Uzbekistan Curbs Gas Delivery To Tajikistan By Half

DUSHANBE -- Uzbekistan has decreased its flow of natural-gas supplies to neighboring Tajikistan by 50 percent over a debt dispute, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.

The deputy head of TajikTransGaz, Shavkat Shoimov, told RFE/RL that Uzbek authorities cut supplies after the Tajik gas distributor failed to pay a reported $17 million debt by June 15.

Shoimov said the current volume of gas delivered from Uzbekistan is barely enough to sustain the operations of Tajik aluminum-producer Talco.

Many other industrial facilities have reportedly had to suspend their operations.

Tajikistan's major cement-producing plant has sent all its workers on an unpaid holiday.