PM Nawaz attends CASA -1000 Power Project groundbreaking
ceremony
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
attended the Central Asia and South Asia (CASA-1000 MW) power project groundbreaking
ceremony on May 12, 2016 near Dushanbe in Tajikistan.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon,
Chief Executive Afghanistan Abdullah Abdullah and Kyrgyzstan's Prime Minister
Sooronbay Jeenbekov jointly launched the project at an impressive ceremony.
Inauguration of CASA Project is a great
pleasure for region that after many years of conception of this project, Pakistan
current Government is entering into the implementation phase. The project will enhance economic
integration and bring prosperity in the region.
Since previous governments did not
paid attention to CASA project. Meanwhile the present government taking a bold
step to take up this project.
Current Government to overcome the
energy crisis and to resolve the issue taking concrete steps towards making it
a reality. The groundbreaking ceremony for the CASA -1000 is a great
achievement of the present Government.
The acute energy crisis started in
2006-07 with a gradual widening in the demand and supply gap of electricity.
Since then this gap has grown and has assumed proportions which are considered
to be the worst of all such power crises that Pakistan has faced since its
inception.
The electric power deficit had
crossed the level of 5000 MW at many points during the year 2011.
At one stage in the month of May, 2011 this
shortfall had surpassed 7000 MWAs of 2013 massive long-standing electricity
shortages continued with long-standing failure to provide reliable service and
rampant corruption being met by public protests, unauthorized connections, and
refusal by consumers to pay for intermittent service.
In the last ten years there is no
substantial increase in the generation capacity in comparison to a steep rise
in electricity demand. To a great extent, failure on the part of previous
government to timely react to the situation led the country into a severe
electricity crisis.
Central Asia South Asia
electricity import project, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and road projects
with Afghanistan, which were a manifestation of current Government policy to
enhance regional connectivity and overcome the energy demand.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also attended
the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) gas pipeline groundbreaking
ceremony on December 13, 2015 in southeastern Turkmenistan.
The pipeline is expected to be
operational by 2019. Thus delivering on the promise of “High priority to import
gas through pipelines” made in 2013’s election manifesto of PML-N.
BACKGROUND
Central Asia and South Asia (CASA-1000) is a project designed to
transmit 1300 MW of surplus electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic
through Afghanistan (300 MW) to Pakistan (1000-MW). MOU among four
Governments was signed on November 16,
2007 at Kabul. The estimated cost of the CASA-1000 project is 1,170 million
dollars.
The
initial plan is to transmit power in the range of 1,000 to 1,300MW from the
Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan to Pakistan and Afghanistan. The major share of
the exported energy will be consumed by Pakistan while approximately 300MW will
be used by Afghanistan.
v 500 kV AC line from Datka (in the Kyrgyz Republic) to Khudjand (477
kilometers away, in Tajikistan)
v 1300 megawatt AC-DC Convertor Station at Sangtuda (Tajikistan)
v 750 kilometer High Voltage DC line from Sangtuda to Kabul (Afghanistan)
to Peshawar (Pakistan)
v 300 megawatt Convertor Station at Kabul (with import and export
capability)
v 1300 megawatt DC-AC Convertor Station at Peshawar
An Inter-Governmental Agreement
(IGA) was signed in August 2008 to govern and resolve issues critical to the
implementation of the project. The project was to be funded by the World Bank
(WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB)
In the beginning, the Asian
Development Bank was heavily involved, but withdrew in 2009 citing the
challenging security situation in Afghanistan as a reason. Initially due to the
difficult terrain and the security situation, the planned transmission line in
Afghanistan and Pakistan is the most problematic part of CASA-1,000.
On October 11, 2014, Afghanistan
and Pakistan agreed on a transit fee, and at IGC meetings in November/December
2014 and February 2015 a master agreement as well as a power purchase agreement
were prepared.
It has been agreed that Pakistan
will obtain electricity at US$9.35 per kilowatt through CASA-1,000 during the
initial 15 years, whereas this price includes a transit fee of US$ 1.25 per
kilowatt owed by Pakistan to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan first demanded a
transit fee of US¢ 2.5 per kilowatt but made concessions as it does not view
CASA-1,000 from a purely economic angle, but also as an opportunity to improve
regional relations and to build confidence among the participating countries
and private corporations, hoping that this will have a positive impact on other
projects.
CASA-1,000 is technically feasible
and economically worthwhile. Even in dry years a sufficient surplus of Kyrgyz
and Tajik electricity is almost certainly guaranteed during summer. And the
comparatively low production costs of electricity in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
coupled with the already high and increasing Pakistani demand are a powerful
economic incentive
The CASA-1000 Project is the first
of its kind that will link Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in
the electricity grid.
The project which will be
completed by 2018 will go a long way in regional integration. The CASA-1000
Project is an important step in building a functioning, efficient electricity
system across Central Asia and South Asia.
By facilitating clean power export
revenues for the Central Asian countries and by alleviating electricity
shortages in the South Asian countries, this project will enhance growth
prospects across both regions.
The regional energy projects would
facilitate regional connectivity and contribute to peace, stability and
security by creating interdependence in the region.
The project will bring warmth and
cordiality, and generate economic activity, create job opportunities and
improve the living standards.
