Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 28
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
Turkmenistan is working to increase the export volumes of electricity to foreign countries, including neighboring Afghanistan, Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister Charymyrat Purchekov said, Trend reports referring to the country's energy ministry.
Purchekov made the remarks in Ashgabat at the governmental meeting.
Reportedly, the duration of the electricity supply to Afghanistan will expire on December 31, 2019. In this regard, the two countries signed a protocol, in accordance with which electricity export will be extended until December 2020.
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stressed that Turkmenistan is taking concrete steps aimed at the social and economic revival of the neighboring country, Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary (TDH) state agency reports.
“The supply of electricity at preferential prices for many years and the construction of power transmission lines, which have become an important part of the energy infrastructure of a friendly country, testify to that,” the president said.
The negotiations on the construction of an additional power transmission line from the Turkmen-Afghan border to Andkhoy city, as well as a power transmission line between the Afghan settlements Hamyap and Garkyn, have been recently held in Herat.
For many years Afghanistan has been receiving electricity and liquefied gas from Turkmenistan at preferential prices in the direction of the Imamnazar-Andkhoy and Serhetabat-Herat power transmission lines. A year ago, the Rabat-Kashan-Kalai-nau border power line was commissioned to supply Turkmen electricity to the northern regions of Afghanistan.
According to Turkmen Program of Social and Economic Development, the total volume of electricity which is generated in the country is planned to be increased up to 33 billion kilowatt-hours during next seven years.