DUSHANBE
, May 10, Asia-Plus – Issues of exporting Tajik and Kyrgyz electric power to
Pakistan
were discussed in
Islamabad
on may 8-9, according to information from
Tajikistan
’s Energy Ministry.
The source says a Tajik delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Asadullo Ghulomov negotiated with the Pakistani side the issues of the construction of a 500-volt power-transmission line to
Pakistan
and financing of that project.
Afghan and Kyrgyz delegations also took part in these negotiations. Two variants were considered: 1) Roghun-Norak-Sangtuda-Kunduz-Kabul-Peshawar (
Pakistan
), which will be 1000 kilometers in length and 430 kilometers of this main will pass through Afghan territory and 2) Roghun-Khorog-Peshawar via the Vakhan Corridor in
Afghanistan
, which will be 700 kilometers in length.
During the negotiations it was noted that the power-transmission line from
Tajikistan
would help
Pakistan
in meeting its growing energy requirements.
Pakistan
’s energy requirements annually rise by eight percent, and the Pakistani side is ready to annually import some 4 billion kWh of electricity from
Tajikistan
and
Kyrgyzstan
, which are rich in hydropower resources.
Some media report that the Afghan side has given its consent on transit supply of Tajik electricity to
Pakistan
via
Afghanistan
. But
Afghanistan
insists on the construction of the power-transmission line via Kunduz and
Kabul
justifying it by saying that the construction of the power-transmission line via the Vakhan Corridor will become complicated by security problems and mountainous relief of the area.
It is supposed that a detailed discussion of this project for the construction of the power-transmission line from
Tajikistan
to
Pakistan
will be discussed in
Dushanbe
in October this year, during a visit of Pakistani Water and Energy Minister Liaqat Ali Jatoi. During his visit to
Tajikistan
modalities for the power export to
Pakistan
will be finalized, according to the source.
We will recall that in March last year
Tajikistan
signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with
Pakistan
to explore the feasibility of exporting electricity to
Pakistan
.
