Islamabad (TDI): From October 28 to November 1, 2024, the World Bank’s Implementation Support Mission is visiting Islamabad and Lahore to evaluate the Central Asia-South Asia (CASA-1000) power Transmission and Trading Project.
The mission, headed by Senior Energy Specialist and Task Team Leader Dmytro Glazkov, will collaborate with the CASA team.
Furthermore, the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) to resolve outstanding concerns, according to the Economic Affairs Division.
The mission will be accompanied by Senior Social Development Specialist Babar Naseem Khan, Ghulam Murtaza Uqaili, the Country Coordinator for CASA-1000, and other team members. They will also meet with project contractors.
Energy interconnection between the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan is the goal of the $1.2 billion CASA-1000 project.
Although the World Bank suspended funding when the Taliban took over Afghanistan, which caused delays in progress, the World Bank later granted $300 million in funds to continue the project without Taliban leadership.
Read More: Pakistan, World Bank Agree on Development Boast
According to reports, construction projects in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan are almost finished.
The transmission lines provide bi-directional capability, enabling Pakistan to export excess electricity to Central Asian Republics (CARs) in the winter, subject to commercial agreements.
Furthermore, the electricity flow from Central Asia to Pakistan is planned to occur from May to September every year.
It is anticipated that the project will lower electricity costs and increase Pakistan’s use of renewable energy.
Energy payments will be based on the number of units provided, according to sources, and the tariff structure will include both transmission and generation costs.
Five of the ten contracts awarded through international bidding involve Indian companies. Funding sources make direct payments upon project consultants’ verification.
Read More: CASA-1000 Regional Significance, Improvements & Innovations
Ministers from three CASA-1000 nations pushed the World Bank to become again involved in Afghanistan during a summit in Dubai in December 2023, stating that otherwise, completed assets in other countries will be left stranded.
In March 2024, the World Bank acknowledged at a Joint Working Group conference in Istanbul that its Executive Board had approved a new $300 million funding strategy that was not controlled by the Taliban-run Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS).
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