BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, March 21. The 500 kV power transmission line connecting Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan under the Central Asia-South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000) is set to be energized on March 31, 2025, Kyrgyz Minister of Energy Taalaibek Ibraev said, Trend reports.
He made the statement during a meeting with a World Bank delegation led by Charles Cormier, Infrastructure Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, and Tatiana Proskuryakova, World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia.
The line will stretch from the Sugd-500 substation in Tajikistan to the Datka substation in Kyrgyzstan.
Ibraev noted that construction work on Kyrgyz territory for the "CASA-1000" project has been fully completed.
The CASA-1000 is a regional energy project valued at $1.2 billion. Once operational, the completed CASA-1000 power lines will transmit high-voltage electricity between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and from Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The project was approved by the World Bank's Board of Directors in March 2014, with financing from the International Development Association (IDA).
The official launch of the CASA-1000 implementation took place in May 2016 in the city of Tursunzade in Tajikistan. Upon completion, the CASA-1000 system will comprise 1,387 km of transmission lines.
The Afghan section of the project is expected to be completed and operational by 2026. The Tajik and Kyrgyz portions of the project have already been finished and are ready for connection to the regional grid.