The state-owned national electric grid of Kyrgyzstan (NEGK) has completed the construction of energy infrastructure facilities for the Central Asia-South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000) in Kyrgyzstan.
The facilities completed include 1,243 pylons, 456.06 km of lines, and a substation bay at the 500 kV Datka substation in Kyrgyzstan. The CASA-1000 project aims to facilitate the trade of 1,300 MW of electricity among four countries—Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The project will help transport surplus energy from hydroelectric power projects in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the power-deficit countries of Pakistan (1,000 MW) and Afghanistan (300 MW). The scope of the project entails the construction of a 475-km long, 500 kV high voltage AC (HVAC) line from Datka (Kyrgyzstan) to Khudjand (Tajikistan); a 1,300 MW HVDC converter station each at Sangtuda (Tajikistan) and Nowshera (Pakistan); and an 800-km, ±500 kV HVDC transmission line connecting Sangtuda and Nowshera via Afghanistan. Almost three fourths of the line passes through Afghanistan. The developers of the project are Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat of Afghanistan; NEGK; National Transmission and Despatch Company Limited of Pakistan; and Open Joint Stock Holding Company Barki Tajik of Tajikistan. The entire CASA-1000 project is expected to be completed in March 2025.