Tajikistan national power utility Barki Tojik has secured a $110m loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to fund the construction of the Central Asia-South Asia (CASA)-1000 cross-border electricity transmission project.

hydro

The funding will be used by the company to build the power converter station and related infrastructure in Tajikistan.

The $1bn CASA-1000 project involves the construction of a transmission line for the supply of hydro-electricity from the Central Asian countries of Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

EBRD president Sir Suma Chakrabarti said: "We are proud to support this program that will benefit the whole of Tajikistan.

"Importantly, it enables a strategic cross-border project, which has the potential to become a ‘game-changer’ in this troubled region."

Barki Tojik will, however, be eligible for the financing subject to the implementation of certain reforms.

The reforms include the launch an independent energy regulator, and set out rules for third-party access to the transmission line.

The project is also being funded by the World Bank, and the European Investment Bank.

"CASA-1000 demonstrates the crucial importance of cooperation of international financial institutions for global development.

"This cooperation is especially important in Central Asia where markets do not offer funds for strategic cross-border projects," Chakrabarti noted.

The EBRD has previously provided $75m loan to upgrade the Qairokkum hydropower plant in Tajikistan.


Image: The CASA-1000 project will facilitate electricity trade between the Central Asian countries and the South Asian countries. Photo: courtesy of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.