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US to provide $15 million for Central Asia - South Asia electricity project

CASA-1000 is entirely dependent on existing hydropower generation so it will not affect water-sharing agreements for other Central Asian countries

© EPA/M.A.PUSHPA KUMARA

NEW YORK, December 12 /ITAR-TASS/. The United States will provide $15 million for the CASA-1000 project to create a system for electric power transmission from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan, the US Department of State said on Wednesday.

“We believe CASA-1000 can be a potentially transformative project, helping create a regional energy grid that connects Central and South Asia for the first time,” the document says.

The US State Department stressed: “When completed, CASA-1000 will allow Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to profit from existing unused summer generation capacity by selling electricity to Afghanistan and Pakistan.” Afghanistan would doubly benefit from the project as a consumer (300 MW).

“CASA-1000 is entirely dependent on existing hydropower generation so it will not affect water-sharing agreements for other Central Asian countries. It also complements ongoing efforts by the Asian Development Bank and others to support a regional energy grid. These types of projects can enhance economic interdependence and support peace and stability in the region for years to come. That is why the United States has been supporting the CASA-1000 Secretariat for several years, and is now committing an equity stake in the project,” the release says.

CASA-1000 provides for electricity supply by high-voltage transmission lines with the total length exceeding 1,000 kilometers. In September, the government of Kyrgyzstan said that the practical phase of the CASA-1000 project implementation was scheduled for next July. Its total cost is expected to reach $1 billion.

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