Master Agreement (MA) and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) of multi-nation Central Asia -South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000) are expected to be inked by the end of next month, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.
The wording of agreements'' drafts was finalised at a two-day meeting held on March 16-17, 2015 between the stakeholders in Istanbul. The World Bank and USAID are the two key agencies which are pushing the stakeholders to finalise the project as early as possible.
The World Bank had approved the project on March 27, 2014. The closing date of the project is June 30, 2020. According to the World Bank, the project''s cost will be $997 million; of which the commitment amount of the Bank is $526.5 million.
Pakistani officials, however, say that the cost of the project is $1.17 billion, of which Pakistan''s share is around $300 million, including the construction of transmission line and converter stations.
The sources said, NTDC has already floated a tender of the three converter stations whose bid submission is next month. Converters will be installed at Sangtuda (Tajikistan), Kabul (Afghanistan) and Peshawar.
CASA-1000 is now completing its initial financial and multi-national power transaction and transmission agreements, and will soon enter the construction phase. ECODIT LLC, prime contractor for the USAID energy links project, is providing technical and financial support to the CASA-1000 Secretariat.
The World Bank further said that the implementation of the project is progressing well on the three key areas: (i) commercial - prices and all commercial issues related to the (PPAs) and Master Agreement were finalised in the recently-held meetings in Istanbul; (ii) procurement - is progressing with the receipt of proposals for the owner''s engineers; the launch of bidding for two major packages (a) Afghanistan Transmission line - the longest section of DC line - and (b) the HVDC converter stations and O&M package. In parallel, preparations of the community support program for Afghanistan and Pakistan are progressing; (iii) Financing - discussions are ongoing with EBRD, IsDB and DFID to seek financing to close the remaining gap. In December 2014, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan had signed an agreement on CASA-1000 in Istanbul, according to which the price of electricity to be imported from Tajikistan will be 9.35 cents per unit.
Pakistan believes that CASA-1000 project will be completed by 2018 under the umbrella of the World Bank. Tajikistan''s share in the energy export will be 70% while Kyrgyzstan exports will account for 30%. Afghanistan will consume 300 MW of the exported energy while Pakistan will receive 1000 MW of electricity. The project is forecast to boost energy trade in the region that will lead to sustainable development.
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