ADB to facilitate power study for Pakistan, Afghanistan

Islamabad, Jan 24 (UNI) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will facilitate the export of 1,000 mega watts (MW) of electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Pakistan and Afghanistan to partly fulfill their growing energy needs.

The Dawn reported that the bank is providing a three million dollars technical assistance grant for a study that will look into the feasibility and viability of the proposed project, including assessment of power availability and demand in these countries, possible transmission routes, economic and financial costs, and environmental and social safeguard assessments.

According to ADB, the feasibility study will look into the proposed power trading project that would earn revenues for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan through an export of 1,000 MW electricity to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The Multi-Country Working Group of the bank will deal with the financial and technical aspects of the proposed project.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Islamic Development Bank and the World Bank alongwith bilateral and private sector stakeholders are participating and assisting the Multi-Country Working Group in the proposed project.

The group had taken important steps towards regional cooperation in power trade, ADB's Senior Investment Specialist F C Kawawaki said.

''Although there are some projects under development in Afghanistan in which several Central Asian states are cooperating, there is a considerable scope for expansion of regional cooperation especially in the power sector. This project marks the beginning of the process to bring the demand and supply sides together,'' Mr Kawawaki added.

The countries have also requested the World Bank to provide technical assistance, focusing on the commercial assessment of the study which, together with ADB's assistance, will be utilised by the four countries to determine the way forward.

The Asian Development Bank has also offered Pakistan 670 million dollars in new assistance to overcome the worsening energy crisis by developing its renewable energy resources.

The amount would meet about 80 per cent of the five-year renewable energy development programme in Punjab province, which includes five hydropower projects.

The main objective of the ADB assistance is to provide adequate facilities for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity keeping in view the future requirements for industrial, agricultural and economic development of the country.

UNI