Regional: Regional Power Transmission Interconnection Project (AFG/TAJ)

Energy / Electricity transmission and distribution - Large hydropower generation

The Project will interconnect the power grids in Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

The Project's scope will cover the construction of a 220 kilovolt (kV) double-circuit transmission line that will link the hydropower stations located on the Vakhsh River in Tajikistan to the border town of Sherkan Bandar; then to Kunduz, Baglan, and Pul-e-Khumri in Afghanistan. This line will be ultimately linked to Afghanistan's major electricity demand centre, Kabul, through the Afghan 220 kV corridor currently under construction, linking Pul-e-Khumri to Kabul.

The Project will also include upgrading and new investments in Tajikistan that will help reduce the winter power deficit by (i) increasing the available level of generation, and (ii) decreasing the level of technical losses in south Tajikistan. Both measures will aim to export 300 megawatt (MW) to Afghanistan and generate additional 320 gigawatt-hour (GWh) annually in Tajikistan.

The Project is in line with the governments' strategies and policies. In Afghanistan, the policy is to provide reliable power supply to all Afghans. In Tajikistan, the policy is to maximize the use of its hydropower assets.

The project scope has been coordinated with other external funding agencies.

Afghanistan's power generation, transmission, and distribution systems have been severely damaged by years of conflict. There is almost no transmission grid and generation is very limited. Lack of generation capacity has led to widespread use of load shedding throughout the country, including the capital Kabul where supply is available only a few hours a day. To cope with this situation, where the grid is unable to provide reliable supply, most of the energy users and industry have shifted to decentralized smallscale diesel power generation. Consequently, Kabul has become up to more than $0.33 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), taking into account high international market prices for crude oil.

Regionally, there are large surpluses of generation in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan while Afghanistan is struggling with a large power deficit. All economic and technical studies show that importing power from neighboring countries even during a limited period of the year has a sound rate of return. Recent studies recommend that interconnections with neighboring countries should be pursued and encouraged in parallel with the development of domestic generation. Reconstruction of power lines between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan is ongoing under Asian Development Bank (ADB) financing. A few small interconnections between Iran, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan are in operation but none of them are able to meet the demand in Kabul city.

Tajikistan has an installed generation capacity of 4,405 MW (98% hydropower) and current surplus generation of 1,500 GWh per year. At a nominal value of $0.02/kWh this surplus is potentially worth $30 million per year.The surplus is only available for export for 6 - 8 months during the spring-summer period and 90% of the installed generation capacity in Tajikistan is located in the southern part of the country. Tajikistan has three separate transmission grids that are not interconnected (north, south, and east grids). The only way for Tajikistan to export its surplus at present is to use the Uzbek grid. However, transmission constraints in Uzbekistan mean that Tajikistan is not able to use the Uzbek grid most of the time. Therefore, water is spilled without generating electricity during the summer and potential electricity supply is wasted.

Based on the above, the Project offers a win-win situation where Afghanistan's lack of power supply can be met by Tajikistan's surplus, which it is currently unable to export.

Construction and rehabilitation of TAJ power systems (Baipaza excitation system, Perpadnaya and Golovnaya HPP)

Construction and installation of power systems in AFG (Kunduz, Baghland, Pul-e-Khumri)

Tajikistan Components.

1. Transmission Line. The actual length of the completed transmission line was 116.5 km compared. The transmission line was completed on 30 November 2010; commissioned and energized for electricity export to Afghanistan on 8 October 2011 upon completion of the Afghan portion.

2. Work at the Sangtuda substation under this output was completed as planned

IsDB financed. Construction work completed; energization of Unit 3 was expected in November 2012.

3. Replacement of Transformer T3 at Golovnaya HPP was not implemented due to insufficient funds available by the EA, BT.

4. Dredging of the canals at Centralnaya and Perepadnaya HPPs completed.

5. Upgrading of Unit 3 at Golovnaya HPP: construction completed and energization was expected by 25 December 2012.

6. Rehabilitation of the excitation system at Baipaza HPP (Lot 5) completed.

7. The optimization of the Vakhsh River cascade is being carried out under the ADB-financed Regional Power Transmission Project.

8. The supply of bulk metering systems completed.

Afghan Components.

1. Transmission Line was completed with the final length of 163 km. Electricity flow from TAJ to AFG commenced on 8 Oct 2011.

2. Two Substations in Kunduz and Baghlan (entirely financed by IsDB) are being carried out by an Iranian contractor. Construction progress has been severely affected by the sanctions imposed on Iran, the contractor and its banks by the international communities, prohibiting cash flow to the contractor. At the time of the PCR Mission, progress was at 75%, with major equipment already installed. Completion is expected by June 2013.

3. In compliance with the LARP implementation, MEW has undertaken the following -

a) Section A, B, and C: The distribution of allowances process has been completed. The compliance reports have been revised and submitted.

b) Section c, Addenda C: The compensation for the remaining three affected families is still pending.

c) Section B, Addenda LARP: Compliance report has been reviewed and found acceptable.

Land acquisition or impacts on crops were limited, both for the Afghanistan and the Tajikistan components, and depended only on the construction of tower bases and expansion of Baglan substation. All other items constructed under the Project, including temporary access roads, will have no impacts on property and livelihoods. No house will be affected and no resettlement is needed in either country.

In Afghanistan, most of the transmission line passes over unused desert land where impacts were greatly limited by locating the towers within the tower footing of an old Soviet line in disuse. In Tajikistan, most of the transmission line passed in unused desert land and impacts occured only where the transmission line crosses strips of cultivated land.

To plan the compensation program, EAs have prepared a short resettlement plan (RP) for each component. Each RP fits the relevant national law/regulation and ADB's policy on Involuntary Resettlement (1995) and Operations Manual F2 on Involuntary Resettlement.