DUSHANBE, March 17, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Afghanistan now receives some 35 megawatt-hour of electric power from Tajikistan per day, Afghan deputy Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Faruk Qazemzade, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

According to him, Tajikistan is currently supplying electricity to Afghan provinces of Badakhshan and Kunduz.

“We plan to increase electricity deliveries from Tajikistan in the near future,” said the Afghan official, “With financial support from the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) a number of projects for construction of power transmission lines are being implemented.  These power grids will connect some border areas in Afghan provinces of Kunduz, Takhor and Badakhshan with Tajikistan’s power systems.”

Besides, Tajik colleagues promised to complete a 220-kW power transmission line from the Sangtuda-1 HPP to Afghan Sherkhan Bandar in May this year, Qazemzade said.  “The Afghan side is continuing to construct the power transmission line Sherkhan Bandar-Kunduz-Baghlan-Puli Khumri-Kabul-Pakistani Border.  This power grid is expected to be put into operation by the end of this year,” he said

We will recall that the 220 kV Tajikistan-Afghanistan power transition line is 274 kilometers long, and 118 kilometers of it lies on Tajik territory.  On the territory of Tajikistan, the line starts in the Sanguda-1 hydroelectric plant and ends on the Tajik-Afghan border.