Indian Firms to Build Power Line From Tajikistan to Afghanistan

Dec 26, 2008 - BBC Monitoring - Central Asia

The Indian companies the KEC International Ltd. and the RPG Transmission Ltd. have won a tender to construct electricity transmission lines in Tajikistan, from the Sangtuda-1 hydroelectric power station, which is being constructed, to the border with Afghanistan.

The deputy chief engineer of the open joint stock holding company Barq-i Tojik [Tajik Electricity], Rashid Gulov, told the Khovar news agency that a centre for supervising energy projects jointly with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had announced a tender to construct electricity transmission lines.

According to the project the Indian companies will construct 118- km-long electricity transmission line from the Sangtuda-1 hydroelectric power station which is constructed in the Tajik south to the [Afghan] town of Pol-e Khomri.

The cost of the project is 19m dollars.

"The Asian Development Bank and the OPEC fund [for international development] will allocate money [for this project]," Gulov said.

He also said that this power line was essential for Tajikistan, because after putting into operation the Sangtuda-1 and Sangtuda-2 hydroelectric power stations, which are being constructed on the River Vakhsh with participation of Russian and Iranian investments, electricity output would increase in the summer period and surplus electricity might be exported to the South Asian countries.

The construction of the electricity transmission line will start in late January.

Originally published by Khovar website, Dushanbe, in Russian 26 Dec 08.