Work has started on the CASA 1000 power transmission line project

On Wednesday, under the South Asia Central Asia Regional Trade and Transmission Project (CASA-1000), Energy Minister Omar Ayub Khan and Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) President Dr Bandar Hajjar inaugurated the construction of 113-kilometer electricity transmission lines from the Pak-Afghan border to Nowshera in a virtual event. The Energy Minister welcomed the efforts of the Member States and the funding of all the sponsoring partners to finance the construction of power transmission line infrastructure under the CASA-1000 project in Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. He said that, through the establishment of a local power association and the development of an integrated power market, the business will sustain monetary reconciliation between the four participating nations. It will also make a decisive contribution to energy stability, because Pakistan's energy mix has been strengthened by a large measure of cross-line imports and power prices. The minister said Pakistan's new Renewable Energy Policy will provide investors with opportunities, adding that the government has set ambitious goals for the implementation of 25% of renewable energy by 2025 and 30% by the end of 2030, including 40% of hydropower generation in the country's energy mix.