EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. CASA 1000 project objective. The Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan are pursuing the development of electricity trading arrangements and the establishment of a Central Asia South Asia Regional Electricity Market (CASAREM). Since 2005, these four countries have intensified their cooperation with a variety of International Financial Institutions (IFIs), including the World Bank. The proposed project has the purpose and would contribute to alleviating power supply shortages in Pakistan and Afghanistan and would enhance revenues and economic prospects in the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. It will facilitate the first electricity trade of 1,300 megawatts (MW) of existing summertime hydropower surplus between the two regions, involving the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan in Central Asia and Afghanistan and Pakistan in South Asia. Project preparation was guided by the 4-country minister-level Inter-Governmental Council (IGC) and through consultations with the 10-member Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program. A Secretariat of the CASA-1000 project was put in place in 2011. The project is expected to consist of the construction and operation of transmission infrastructure in the four countries. A key aim of the CASAREM initiative is the proposed development of a cross-border electrical interconnection linking all four countries to facilitate the transfer of existing surplus power from the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, southwards to Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is envisaged that the major share of this export will be used by Pakistan, while a relatively smaller quantity of power (up to 300 MW) will be imported by Afghanistan. A map of the proposed project is shown in Figure 1.

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