Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, July 15 / Trend H. Hasanov /
The Afghan Cabinet of Ministers announced about launching a project to import electricity from Turkmenistan. This will improve the life of 500,000 inhabitants in Jowzjan province, Afghan media said on Saturday.
A substation with capacity of 800 MW will be built in Andkhoy (Faryab province) within the project. It will provide the provinces Sari Pul, Faryab, Balkh and Samangan with electricity, Afghan Minister of Energy and Water Resources Mohammad Ismail Khan told media, information portal afganistan.ru reported with reference to Afghan television.
The report stated that the project worth $225 million will be carried out with financial support from the Asian Development Bank. About $ 25 million will be spent on modernizing electricity supply network of Jowzjan province, $200 million - constructing transmission lines from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan.
Earlier, the State Electric Power Corporation "Turkmenenergo" and Turkish Company Lotus Proje Akaryakit Enerji Madencilik Telekomunikasyon Insaat Sanayi Taahhut ve Ticaret AS signed a large contract worth $390 million.
The matter rested in designing and constructing high voltage overhead transmission lines, a complex of substations in Lebap and Mary provinces in Turkmenistan, as well as reconstruction of existing substations and procurement of spare parts for power plants.
According to the document, it is planned to commission the facilities in September 2013. The project implementation will increase the export of electricity to Afghanistan by five times. This will enable delivery to Pakistan and Tajikistan.