CASA 1000 may be finalized by the end of July
Almaty, Kazakhstan: Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan will sign final document of the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA 1000) in late July.
According to details, the Joint Working Group (JWG) for the CASA-1000 Project met in Almaty, Kazakhstan on June 12-13 but ended without any decision and asking for further work on the final document. The meeting was attended by members of the Working Groups from all four countries as well as representatives of the World Bank, IsDB, USAID, IFC, DFID, EBRD and the IGC Secretariat.
According to the CASA 1000’s website, the sides discussed the Coordination Agreement and the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between Afghanistan and Pakistan. All four countries confirmed that signature of the final version of both agreements could take place by the end of July. All international financial institutions present reportedly provided detailed information on the current status of financing for various parts of the project and the respective allocation of funds.
The new role and potential new structure for IGC Secretariat for the implementation phase was presented to JWG and discussed.
CASA 1000 is designed to transmit 1,300MW of surplus electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan through Afghanistan, which is going to consume 300MW, to Pakistan. CASA 1000 looks a non-practical project as its map runs in the heart of instable Afghanistan instead of crossing over comparatively peaceful Wakhan belt. Western countries wish to run CASA 1000 in the heart of Afghanistan to provide ro provide maximum benefits to Pushtun speaking Afghanistan. The CASA 1000 Project is expected to develop the necessary physical infrastructure and create the institutional and legal framework to transmit surplus power available from existing generation facilities in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The physical infrastructure for CASA 1000 is likely to include: a 500 kV high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system between Tajikistan and Pakistan through Afghanistan; an AC transmission link from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to connect to the HVDC line from Tajikistan to South Asia; and the necessary electricity sub-stations in Kabul, Peshawar and Sangtuda (in Tajikistan).
