Page 8 - AsiaElec Week 33 2022

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Pakistan seeks additional financing

for “challenging” CASA-1000

PAKISTAN PAKISTAN’S National Transmission and Des- financial management, disbursement, and
patch Company (NTDC) is reportedly seeking reporting under the Projects; (iii) review the
additional financing of $35mn for additional implementation status of the Converter Station
activities of the “challenging” Central Asia-South and Electrode Station and line; (iv) get an update
Asian Electricity Transmission and Trade Project on the implementation of the Resettlement
(CASA-1000). Action Plan (RAP); (v) Account bank procure-
The transmission project is to create condi- ment; (vi) Technical code; and (vii) the project
tions for sustainable electricity trade between restructuring process required from Pakistan.”
the Central Asian countries of Tajikistan and NTDC, according to the newspaper, reported
Kyrgyzstan and the South Asian countries of to the World Bank mission “that there was an
Afghanistan and Pakistan, but it has been hit by incident on two towers on the CASA-1000
numerous delays and difficulties with the secu- 500kV HVDC Transmission Line, which is
rity situation in Afghanistan. under construction and financed by Islamic
According to a cited aide memoire, the orig- Development Bank (ISDB). The contractor of
inal cost of the project in Pakistan was $185mn, the line had informed NTDC through a letter of
of which $92.66mn has already been disbursed, June 27, 2022 which was forwarded to the Bank
whereas $46.74mn is to be released during the on June 29, 2022 that on June 24, 2022, Towers #
current financial year. The closing date of project 184 and 185 of the 500kV HVDC Transmission
was to be extended by about three years from Line were targeted by planting explosive mate-
March 31, 2023 to December 31, 2025. rial on both towers. Tower #184 sustained severe
Business Recorder stated: “A World Bank destruction, while the base of Tower #185 was
team led by Anthony Granville carried out the partially damaged. NTDC security department
implementation mission from June 27 to July along with Frontier Corps (FC) are currently
7, 2022 to review the implementation of the investigating the incident and an updated report
project. The main objectives of the mission along with a remedial measure to avoid such
were to: (i) discuss the implementation of the incidents in the future would be forwarded to
CASA-1000 Project; (ii) review project status, the Bank”.™
including procurement, contact management,

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 33 17•August•2022