KABUL (Pajhwok): Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah on Wednesday left for Tajikistan to participate in the planned Thursday inauguration of the CASA-1000 project.
The $1.17 billion project aims to supply electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan via a 1,222-kilometer power transmission line.
The goal is to supply 1,300 MW of electricity–excess summer generation in Central Asia–to South Asia. President Ashraf Ghani,who made his first official visit to Tajikistan, underscored the importance of the project which, if achieved as envisioned would provide much-needed revenue to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and much-needed energy to South Asia.
The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday said work on the CASA-1000 power project would be launched on Thursday in Tajikistan.
Under the CASA-1000, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan will sell 1300 megawatts of electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan (300MW to Afghanistan and 1000 MW to Pakistan.)
Pakistan will pay to Afghanistan transit fee for the 670 kilometre of line passing via Afghanistan and will also pay another $40 million as annual tax, which would contribute to the Afghanistan revenue.
The major project would be inaugurated on Thursday by leaders of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan in Batosh area of Tursunzoda City in Tajikistan, the foreign ministry said in the statement.
Abdullah, at the head of a high level delegation, left for Tajikistan to participate in the inauguration ceremony, the statement said.
myn/ma
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