News Staff
ISLAMABAD: The World Bank and USAID have withdrawn their funding for the Central Asia-South Asia-1000 (CASA-1000) after the regime change in Afghanistan, causing a two-year delay in the project, according to sources.
Reportedly, a meeting was held under the Secretary, Economic Affairs Division, to discuss the progress of CASA-1000. All issues regarding the project were thoroughly deliberated upon during the meeting.
NTDC/CASA officials gave a presentation on the project in which they covered the geographical spread and updated progress of different sections of the project being implemented in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
M/s Hitachi is also doing a feasibility study to look into the option of the flow of surplus energy from Pakistan to the Central Asian Republics in the coming winters.
The government was informed that with respect to Pakistan, the physical progress on the converter station stands at 74.4% and transmission line at 67.3%, with mere 7% growth.
The moot was conveyed about the project’s halt in Afghanistan due to withdrawal of funds and non-extension of the grant, amounting to $245 million, by the World Bank, following the regime change in Afghanistan. The government was also informed that USAID, in another major setback for the project, has also stopped funding the expenses of CASA-1000 secretariat.
The progress on installation of towers, laying of transmission line and land acquisition were also discussed in detail during the meeting. The representative of NTDC noted that for 113 kilometres of the transmission line, a total of 376 towers are to be installed within Pakistan (Nowshera to Torkham border). Out of these, foundations for 320 towers have been laid, while 300 have been erected.
The government was informed that the project has been delayed by at least two years and a request has been made to the World Bank to extend the project’s period from March 2023 to December 2025. The loan component of IsDB also requires to be extended beyond June 2023, for which a proposal is being drafted for IsDB.
Similarly, request for additional financing of $7.5 million is also being made.
CASA-1000 Chief Engineer flags risk of payment of idle charges amid delay
The Chief Engineer of CASA-1000 warned about the risk of payment of idle charges to the contractors employed by NTDC if the project is not completed and tested within due time owing to the situation in Afghanistan. The government was further informed that the World Bank had asked other donor countries to work out a loan arrangement for Afghanistan to complete the work.
After its completion, the CASA-1000 project would provide a transmission line to transmit electricity from Kyrgyzstan, across Tajikistan and Afghanistan, to Pakistan.
