DUSHANBE, July 23, 2009, Asia-Plus — According to Deputy Minister of Energy and Industries, Mahmadsharif Haqdodov, the summer power deliveries from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan and Pakistan will be a major topic of a quadripartite meeting of the presidents of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Russia that is scheduled to take place in Dushanbe at the end of this month.
The meeting participants are expected to discuss preparation and implementation of the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA 1000).
“Russia is interested in implementation of this project because it would like to supply electrical power generated by the hydroelectric power plant (HPP) Sangtuda-1, in which it retains a 75 percent share, to Afghanistan and Pakistan,” the deputy minister said.
Haqdodov noted that the CASA-1000 project was of significant importance for Tajikistan because the country would have an opportunity to export summer surplus electricity. According to him, construction of the power transmission line will start in the near future.
We will recall that this World Bank-supported regional electricity transmission project will supply summer surplus power from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The project will promote creation of a regional electricity market by facilitating electricity trade between the energy-resource rich countries of Central Asia, and the energy-deficit countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan in South Asia.
The planned project would develop the necessary physical infrastructure and create the institutional and legal framework to transmit surplus power available from existing generation facilities in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The physical infrastructure for CASA 1000 is likely to include: a 500 kV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission system between Tajikistan and Pakistan through Afghanistan; an AC transmission link from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to connect to the HVDC line from Tajikistan to South Asia; as well as the necessary electricity sub-stations in Kabul, Peshawar and Sangtuda (in Tajikistan).
