Sign in Subscribe
Energy industries

Asian Development Bank to Help Afghanistan Establish National Power Transmission Grid Project

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a technical assistance grant to help the government of Afghanistan prepare a national power transmission grid project. The project aims to interconnect the northwestern power system with northern and central power systems to supply electricity to the provinces of Badghis, Faryab, and Jawzjan, which are currently not electrified from a grid. The project will also develop a National Load Dispatch Center in Kabul to coordinate the dispatch of generation and power imports from neighboring countries.

Key Takeaways:

  • The ADB has approved a technical assistance grant of US$750,000 to help Afghanistan prepare a national power transmission grid project.
  • The project will interconnect the northwestern power system with northern and central power systems to supply electricity to the provinces of Badghis, Faryab, and Jawzjan.
  • Approximately 800km of double circuit 200 kV lines will be planned under the project from Mazar Sharif to Herat.
  • The project will also develop a National Load Dispatch Center in Kabul to coordinate the dispatch of generation and power imports from neighboring countries.
  • Chong Chi Nai, ADB Senior Energy Specialist, notes that the project will improve system stability, reduce losses, and boost the reliability of electricity supplies in a country where the power sector has been largely destroyed or damaged.
  • Afghanistan's power sector is characterized by daily rationing of electricity, frequent brownouts, ageing power generation plants, missing overhead transmission and distribution lines, and the proliferation of small diesel generators that are inefficient and polluting.
  • The electrification rate in Afghanistan is estimated to be about 6% and the annual per capita consumption of electricity is among the lowest in the world.
  • Under an ADB-financed Emergency Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Project, 220 kV transmission lines are being repaired in the north.
  • India is financing the detailed design of a line to interconnect the northern and central power systems, enabling the import of power from Uzbekistan to meet acute shortages in Kabul.

Statistics:

  • The total cost of the technical assistance (TA) is approximately $900,000, with the government of Afghanistan funding $150,000 equivalent.
  • The project is due for completion around January 2005.
  • Approximately 800km of double circuit 200 kV lines will be planned under the project from Mazar Sharif to Herat, including the upgrading of 142km of existing single circuit 110 kV transmission line from Mazar Sharif to Shebergan.
  • The electrification rate in Afghanistan is estimated to be about 6%.

Sources:

  • Asia Pulse, "ADB Helps Afghanistan Prepare for National Power Transmission Grid Project", May 31
  • Asian Development Bank statement, "Technical Assistance Grant to Support Afghanistan's Power Sector Development"

Read more