Pakistan: World Bank likely to extend CD for CASA-1000
ISLAMABAD: The World Bank is likely to extend closing date of CASA-1000(South-Asia- Central Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project) for three years (until December 31, 2028) as some delays are witnessed in the infrastructure of the long-awaited project, well informed sources told Business Recorder.
Recently, an Implementation Support Mission of World Bank visited the site of the project in Pakistan and held meetings with the contractors and NTDC officials.
The World Bank, along with other development partners including Islamic Development Bank (ISDB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), have made various commitments to the CASA-1000 project in the four CASA countries and are providing financing support for the implementation of this transformational regional power trade and integration project.
CASA-1000 suddenly gets new lease of life?
According to the Bank, the project continues to make progress on construction activities across the CASA-1000 transmission line in Afghanistan, with more than 102 towers erected since resumption of construction in December 2024. In Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic, the construction of CASA-1000 infrastructure has been completed. The subsystem testing of the High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) part has been completed between Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic, and the High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) converter station was tested in early 2025, with the line now energised.
The Bank further noted significant progress made under CASA-1000 in Pakistan, where the overall progress of both the Nowshera Converter Station and Electrode Station is above 99 percent and is expected to be completed by August 2025.
The task team visited the Converter and Electrode Substations on April 11 and is grateful to NTDC for organising this site visit and showing the progress achieved. The transmission line connecting the Nowshera Substation to the electricity grid is 99 percent completed, with 375 towers completed out of 376, and the remaining tower is expected to be finalised by June 2025.
The work on stringing the HVDC transmission line is progressing, with 40 kilometres completed and this portion energised to keep it secure. Additionally, the 66kV line connecting the Electrode Substation has 48 towers completed out of 89, with the remaining work progressing well and expected to be completed by June 2025.
The sources said, the WB's Mission submitted the following key findings and recommendations that require close attention and follow-up by Power Division and NTDC senior management: (i) interim solution for the Converter and Electrode Stations Maintenance. An interim solution is needed to take over the maintenance and upkeep of the converter and electrode stations. While the HVDC facilities are expected to be completed in approximately six months, the system will have to wait for its testing and commissioning until the Afghanistan line is completed. The PIU of CASA-1000 is working under the Owners Engineer (OE). Two possible scenarios are being reviewed for an interim solution: either to suspend the maintenance or to do a partial handover to the Implementation Sub Committee (ISC) for CASA-1000. A meeting with the contractor was held on April 16, 2025 to agree on the next steps. A preliminary proposal discussed by NTDC and the OE, is to proceed with a partial handover and keep three experts from Hitachi/Cobra at the site to provide maintenance and training to NTDC personnel. The OE has advised that the maintenance and upkeep of the facilities should be carried out by NTDC staff (after receiving training from M/s Hitachi) which must be confirmed by ISC NTDC. M/s Hitachi would provide limited resources and will largely have a supervisory role;
(ii) Project Extension: The current project closing date for Pakistan is December 31, 2025. Due to delays in the completion of CASA-1000 in Afghanistan, an extension to December 31, 2028, will be required. The other three CASA-1000 Countries (Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Afghanistan) have already finalised their project extensions. NTDC submitted a letter to the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) on March 26, 2025, requesting a three-year project extension. Consequently, a request from EAD is to be submitted to the Bank to restructure and extend the project;
(iii) Additional Financing: Currently, NTDC has sufficient financing from WB and ISDB to complete the physical infrastructure of the Converter, Electrode Stations and Transmission Lines. However, as the project goes into Operational Readiness in 2028, additional financing will be required as part of NTDC's legal and technical obligations. The amount and timeline for this will be firmed up over the next fiscal year; and (iv) update information in STEP: It has been noted that the information on procurement activities in STEP is incomplete and not updated. NTDC has been requested to update the information in STEP by the end of December 2025. NTDC also agreed to hire a new Procurement Specialist, as this position recently became vacant following the resignation of the previous Procurement Specialist.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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