Work on the longest stretches of the World Bank-funded Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000) has been suspended due on ongoing political upheaval in Afghanistan. …
The CASA-1000 is a 1,270-km-long, 500 kV power transmission line that aims to facilitate the trade of 1,300 MW of electricity among four countries—Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Afghanistan and Pakistan, involving surplus energy from hydroelectric power projects in the former two countries, to the power-deficit Pakistan (1,000 MW) and Afghanistan (300 MW). Afghanistan’s Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), Joint Stock Company National Electric Grid of Kyrgyzstan (NEGK), National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) of Pakistan, and Open Joint Stock Holding Company Barki Tajik of Tajikistan, are the developers of this project. Overall, CASA-1000 has made satisfactory progress on various aspects. With one of the longest stretches of the project coming to a halt, it is feared that the project might face timeline delays. Tajikistan’s transmission line construction is ahead of schedule, while Pakistan’s work on the CASA-1000 transmission line will be completed by end-2021.