Afghanistan has resumed the construction of the CASA-1000 high-voltage power transmission line, with energy officials in the country resolving all issues related to the project’s continuation, according to the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan (MoEWR).
As reported by a MoEWR, work on the power transmission line has restarted in the neighboring country, and the project is expected to be fully completed by the end of 2026 or early 2027.
“All necessary construction materials and equipment are already in Afghanistan,” the ministry emphasized.
The project had been suspended after the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. However, according to Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), the total cost of the Afghan section of the power line amounts to $260 million, with $160 million already invested. The project in Afghanistan is funded by the World Bank.
Officials expect that once the CASA-1000 power line is operational, Afghanistan will earn around $50 million annually in transit fees.
Meanwhile, work on the Pakistani section of the project is reportedly nearing completion. According to Tajikistan’s Ministry of Energy, the Pakistani portion of the power line is expected to be fully operational by the third quarter of this year.
It is worth noting that the construction of the CASA-1000 power line in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan has already been completed. Since late March, the 500 kV power line from the “Sogd-500” substation in Tajikistan to the “Datka” substation in Kyrgyzstan has been energized.
Earlier this year, in May, the latest meeting of the joint working groups of the CASA-1000 participating countries and development partners in Dushanbe resulted in the adoption of the Technical Code. According to the Ministry of Energy, this document is a key agreement in the project and compliance with the Technical Code is crucial for the parallel integration of energy systems in Central and South Asia.
The CASA-1000 project aims to export surplus hydroelectric energy from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The official launch of the CASA-1000 project took place in May 2016 in Tursunzoda, with the participation of the heads of state and government from the four participating countries.
The project will involve the construction of 1,387 kilometers of power transmission line and two converter stations to transmit 1,300 MW of electricity. The total budget for the construction of the power line is approximately US$1.2 billion, with the Tajik section of the project costing US$344 million and the Kyrgyz section US$200 million.
It is expected that Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan will earn over US$250 million annually from the export of electricity, based on conservative estimates.
