DUSHANBE, 15.11.2018. /NIAT “Khovar”/. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $35 million grant to reconnect Tajikistan’s electricity system to the Central Asian Power System (CAPS) through interconnection with the Uzbekistan system. This will help expand regional energy trade and improve regional energy efficiency among countries connected to CAPS, ADB’s Office in Tajikistan reports.

ADB, through the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program, actively promotes regional power trading among Central Asian countries and the expansion of power exports to Afghanistan and Pakistan from the region. An interconnected power system in Central Asia will benefit all countries, optimize power use, enhance regional energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

CAPS is a regional electricity transmission network created during the Soviet Union era, and its operation today is coordinated among Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. The signing of a power trade agreement to restart the electricity trade between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in March this year is a step forward for a renewed regional energy network.

“This project will enable Tajikistan to export summer surplus electricity to Uzbekistan and allow for more efficient use of regional energy resources, — said ADB Finance Specialist Mr. Yuki Inoue. — This re-connection signifies a major step towards a full parallel operation with Uzbekistan’s electricity system and CAPS”.

The ADB project will install and upgrade modern relay protection equipment for synchronizing Tajikistan and Uzbekistan’s electricity systems, expand interconnection points, and strengthen Tajikistan’s capacity for stable parallel operation.

The total cost of the project is $40 million, with the Government of Tajikistan providing $5 million. The project is expected to be completed in 2022.