Kyrgyzstan completes its part of CASA-1000 project
BISHKEK. Nov 5 (Interfax) - Kyrgyzstan has finished building infrastructure on its territory for the Central Asia - South Asia international cross-border high-voltage power line or CASA-1000 project, National Electric Grid of Kyrgyzstan said.
Altynbek Rysbekov, the company's head, said a power cell at the Datka substation and 456.06 km of cable and 1,243 pylons had been installed. In addition, local networks have been improved and some pylons replaced.
CASA-1000 involves building a power line to link the power grids of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan with Afghanistan and Pakistan, which will make it possible to create a common electricity market and trade electricity year-round. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will be able to export 1,300 MW of surplus electricity to the South Asian countries in the summer.
The project is being supported by the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, USAID, the U.S. State Department, the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and a number of donor organizations. Construction officially started in May 2016.
All work related to the construction of the CASA-1000 power line in Tajikistan is almost finished, Tajik Energy Minister Daler Juma said in February 2024. Only "issues related to adjustment and connection are left" to complete, Juma said. "We are now also seeing considerable progress by our colleagues in Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan. They are planning to also complete their work by the middle of this year," Juma said. However, the situation with the implementation of the project remains difficult in Afghanistan, he said.
Reports have said, citing Afghanistan's national electricity company Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, that "after a two-year delay, the project resumed with financial support from the World Bank in May 2024. It is expected it will be completed by the end of 2025. The project restart was initiated at the request of regional countries and with Afghanistan's full confidence that all necessary conditions will be met."
