Safiullah Ahmadzai, the operations director of Da Afghanistan Bareshna Shirkat (DABS), the power management authority of Afghanistan, said that work was underway on the power transmission line from Turkmenistan. The 500KV line which could carry 1000MW of electricity required up to $65 million, he added.
He was speaking on 29 January 2023 in the news service Pajhwok’s Twitter space “Tanazur” program discussing the lack of electricity in Afghanistan. More than 1600 people listened to the program live.
He said that Afghanistan needs 1370 megawatts of electricity, but 900 megawatts is available in the networks (80% imported, 20% locally produced) and there is a shortage of 470 megawatts.
Ahmedzai said according to the Asian Development Bank, Afghanistan has resources to produce 22,000 megawatts of solar power, 67,000 megawatts of wind power and 23,000 megawatts of hydropower.
The project came under discussion during the visit of the Acting Minister of Energy and Water of Afghanistan Mulla Abdul Latif Mansoor and the Executive Chairman of Afghanistan’s National Power Utility (DABs) Alhaji Maulawi Muhammad Hanif Hamza to Turkmenistan last week.
Afghanistan is also considering the use of its huge coal deposits to establish power projects.
Ahmadzai said that some Chinese and European companies had shown interest in investing in coal-fired power generation. There are major deposits of coal in the Baghlan, Takhar and Bamyan provinces.
Plans are also under construction to build hydropower projects at the rivers in Afghanistan. The largest river in Afghanistan is Amudrya which is also the main source of water for Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. /// nCa, 1 February 2023