Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Work on Casa-1000 to Start by Year End

Work on Casa-1000 to Start by Year End

KABUL - The power transmission line will run through seven provinces in Afghanistan and will end in Pakistan.
Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) officials on Monday said construction work of the CASA-1000 power transmission project will start by the end of this year in Afghanistan.
CASA-1000 is a power transmission line that will transfer 1,300-megawatt of electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Pakistan. The power transmission line will run through seven provinces in Afghanistan and will end in Pakistan.
The contract of the project was signed between the four nations in 2007 and based on the contract, the project will be implemented by 2020.
“CASA-1000’s plans will be complete in the next three months. And then after signing the contracts for the converter stations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the construction phase will start in Afghanistan,” Wahidullah Tawhidi, DABS spokesman said.
“For seven months (each year) there is no electricity in the cables and free access has been given to all exporters (power exporters) to export their electricity through this transmission cable,” Shekib Ahmad Nisar, an energy expert said.
In addition to creating job opportunities for hundreds of people, Afghanistan will earn $40 million USD a year in power transmission fees.
A number of economic analysts meanwhile said CASA-1000 will increase people’s confidence in government and will have economic benefits.
“By implementing this, Afghanistan will become a safe route to transfer … energy generated goods from Central Asia to South Asia,” said economic lecturer Sayed Massoud.
Overview of CASA-1000:
The CASA-1000 project will include:
• 500 kV AC line from Datka (in the Kyrgyz Republic) to Sugd-500 (477 kilometers away, in Tajikistan)
• 1,300 megawatt AC-DC Converter Station at Sangtuda (Tajikistan)
• 750-kilometer High Voltage DC line from Sangtuda (Tajikistan) to Nowshera (Pakistan)
• 1,300 megawatt DC-AC Converter Station at Nowshera
CASA-1000 project will start from Kyrgyzstan and will run to Afghanistan through Tajikistan and onward to Pakistan’s Peshawar city. The length of the project in Afghanistan is estimated to eventually run for 562km.
With the implementation of the project, 1,300 megawatts of electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will be transferred to Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Afghanistan will receive 300 megawatts of power and the remaining one thousand megawatts will be transited to Pakistan via Afghanistan territory.
The CASA-1000 project is an important step in building a functioning, efficient electricity system across Central Asia and South Asia. By facilitating clean power export revenues for the Central Asian countries and by alleviating electricity shortages in the South Asian countries, this project will enhance growth prospects across both regions.
This project demonstrates landmark cooperation among the Kyrgyz Republic, 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 electrical systems and develop inter-regional cooperation between Central Asia and South Asia.
Afghanistan will receive $40 million in transit duty from the project annually. The project will also enhance the economic connectivity between the contributing nations and will boost Afghanistan’s transit reputation in the region and entire Asia.  (Tolo news)