Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, March 2
By Huseyn Hasanov– Trend:
Turkmenistan plans to gradually increase electricity supplies to South Asia, the Turkmen Energy Ministry said in a message.
The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) power transmission line, the construction of which started Feb. 23, 2018, will pass through the western and southern provinces of Afghanistan, according to the message.
At the first stage, Pakistan will receive 1,700 megawatts of electricity from Turkmenistan via the power transmission line by transit through Afghanistan, and this volume can be further increased to 4,000 megawatts.
“The demand in more than 15,000 megawatts of electricity is expected in Pakistan in the coming decade,” the message noted.
Rapid economic development is also observed in Afghanistan. The laying of new power transmission lines will give an impetus to the implementation of major mining projects in the country, develop large-scale extraction of minerals, and increase revenues from the transit of energy resources.
At this stage, electricity produced in Turkmenistan is supplied to the northern regions of Afghanistan, and it is planned to increase the electricity supplies by several times in the near future.
It was earlier reported that the governments of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed an agreement on the TAP power transmission line.
Turkey’s Calik Holding A.S. company expressed interest in participating in the construction of the 500kV power transmission line.