Afghanistan calls for faster completion of CASA-1000 power project

Afghanistan has called for accelerated construction and additional funding to complete the Central Asia-South Asia (CASA-1000) regional electricity transmission project.

Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) Chief Executive Officer Abdul Haq Hamkar, accompanied by a technical delegation, attended meetings of the project’s Joint Working Group and Intergovernmental Council in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, from October 7 to 9.

During the meetings, Hamkar highlighted the project’s strategic importance in expanding regional electricity trade. He identified securing additional financing, speeding up construction, resolving outstanding obstacles and implementing joint decisions as key priorities.

Representatives from participating countries, the World Bank and other financing institutions reviewed construction progress and discussed the installation of telecommunications repeater stations, operational readiness, monitoring systems and measures needed to launch commercial operations.

The Afghan delegation emphasized the need for additional financial resources to complete the remaining work, while World Bank officials said they would explore options for providing the required funding.

Hamkar also stressed the importance of taking Afghanistan’s current and future electricity needs into account, strengthening regional cooperation and expediting the project’s completion.

CASA-1000 is designed to transmit surplus electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan, helping connect Central Asian power supplies with energy markets in South Asia. Once completed, the project is expected to boost regional electricity trade and strengthen Afghanistan’s role as a transit corridor for cross-border energy supplies.