The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has agreed to provide a $110m loan to fund infrastructure required for the Central Asia and South Asia (CASA-1000) electricity transmission project.
Tajikistan’s state-owned energy firm, Barki Tojik, will use the loan to build the power converter station and associated infrastructure for cross border transmission project.
The transmission line will bring hydro-generated electricity from the two Central Asian countries, Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The project, which is expected to cost more than $1bn, will include 500kV AC line from Datka in the Kyrgyz Republic to Khudjand in Tajikistan; 1300MW AC-DC convertor station at Sangtuda.
Plans also include 750km high voltage DC line from Sangtuda to Kabul, Afghanistan and to Peshawar, Pakistan; 300MW convertor station at Kabul and 1300MW DC-AC convertor station at Peshawar.
EBRD president Suma Chakrabarti said: "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."
The project is being supported by the World Bank, Islamic Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, UK Department for International Development, US State Department, Australian Agency for International Development, and other donor communities.
Image: Tajikistan to benefit from opportunity to sell available summer electricity surplus to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Photo: courtesy of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.