A meeting of the heads of state and government of member nations of the CASA 1000 Project (Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan) will take place in Dushanbe on July 6.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to arrive in Dushanbe tomorrow evening while Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Kyrgyz Prime Ministers Sooronbai Zheenbekov will arrive in Dushanbe on July 6.
Recall, the Interior Ministry Traffic Police Directorate asks people to refrain from traveling along the Dushanbe-Chanak highway on July 6.
The Interior Ministry’s website says traffic along the highway’s section from the Varzob HPP area (Varzob district) to the Takfon area in Ayni district (Sughd province) will be restricted from 6.00 am to 6:00 pm of July 6 for the purpose of providing road safety during holding the CASA 1000 project events.
The foundation stone laying ceremony of CASA-1000 Project, envisaging transmission of surplus electric power available in summer months (May 1 to September 30) from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan, took place in the Tajik city of Tursunzoda on May 12, 2016. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, who is also the head of the Government of Tajikistan, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Sooronbai Zheenbekov, and Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Abdullah Abduallah participated in the ceremony.
The Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade (Casa-1000) Project demonstrates landmark cooperation among Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The modern and efficient CASA-1000 electricity transmission system will help transform the region and signify an important step toward realizing the planned Central Asia-South Asia Regional Electricity Market (CASAREM). The CASAREM initiative will help not only these four countries, but also improve the electricity systems and develop inter-regional cooperation between Central Asia and South Asia.
The CASA 1000 project is scheduled to be completed in 2020. The total cost of the project amounts to 1.7 billion U.S. dollars.
The Project is expected to 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 includes: 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; and the necessary electricity sub-stations in Kabul, Peshawar and Sangtuda (in Tajikistan).
