The FINANCIAL — On 15 May 2015, during the EBRD Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors, the Government of Tajikistan and the EBRD signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) detailing the reform agenda which is the precondition to the financing of the landmark regional electricity transmission project, known as CASA 1000.
The project, which involves a number of other international financial institutions and donors, including the World Bank and the European Investment Bank, will consist of many elements. The EBRD is considering financing the modernisation of Tajikistan’s domestic transmission infrastructure, according to EBRD.
The EBRD financing will be subject to reform of Tajikistan’s state-owned energy company, Barki Tojik. As part of its modernisation agenda, the company will set out third-party access rules for the transmission line and an independent energy regulator will be established.
EBRD Managing Director for Energy and Natural Resources, Riccardo Puliti, signed the MoU with Djamoliddin Nuraliev, 1st Deputy Chairman of the National Bank of Tajikistan, who represented the Government of Tajikistan.
CASA 1000, which stands for “Central Asia-South Asia”, is a planned transmission line which is envisaged to span four countries and to bring hydro-generated electricity from the two Central Asian countries, Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, to electricity-hungry Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Previously, as part of its focus on the electricity sector in Tajikistan, the EBRD arranged a financing package of US$ 75 million for modernisation of the Qairokkum Hydropower Plant in the north. The project will include an innovative climate resilience mechanism.
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