Lighting Up Kabul

Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, finally receives a steady supply of electricity from a 420-kilometer (km) transmission line, benefiting its four million people. The 217 km portion of the transmission line, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), begins at the country’s northern border and then weaves south to Pul-e-Khumri.

The Uzbekistan government constructed another transmission line on its side of the border to complete the route that now supplies power to Afghanistan. As of mid-2009, approximately 90 megawatts of electricity was flowing along this line, and up to 150 MW was expected to reach Kabul by the end of 2009.

The new transmission corridor is part of the North East Power System (NEPS) project that has been undertaken by a range of partners including ADB, United States, Germany, Japan, India, World Bank, and Islamic Development Bank.

According to ADB’s Afghanistan Country Director Craig Steffensen, the new line is the first step in building a network that will eventually connect many other parts of the country that still lack electricity. ADB is providing $56.5 million in financing to build new transmission lines linking Afghanistan and Tajikistan, which will further increase the power supply to NEPS. Another $50 million loan and grant assistance package will help connect approximately 1.2 million people in rural Afghanistan to the network.

With the November 2008 approval by ADB’s Board of Directors of a $570 million energy sector multitranche financing facility, the energy sector has become the largest component of ADB’s overall Afghanistan portfolio.

For more information:

Power Projects in Afghanistan