city, Tajikistan. It lies in the west-central part of the republic, near the border with Uzbekistan. The city developed as a regional centre for an agricultural district in the western part of the Gissar valley. In 1975, however, the city's economic emphasis changed when one of the largest aluminum plants in the Soviet Union began operation there. Power for the complex is supplied by the Nursk hydroelectric station on the Vakhsh River. Pop. (1991 est.) 40,400.