(MENAFN- Daily Outlook Afghanistan) KABUL - The agreement will helpAfghanistan save $600 million in electricity costs, the acting Finance MinisterHumayun Qayumi said.
According to Qayumi, Afghanistanwill pay five cents for each kilowatt of imported power and Uzbekistan willcover the maintenance costs of the transmission line.
'With this agreement, Afghanistan'ssystem will be synchronized with Uzbekistan's and this will help us purchasepower from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, Qayumi said.
Previous agreements for powerimports from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan were limited to one yearand were vulnerable to fluctuating prices, but the price of this 10-yearagreement is fixed, according to officials who negotiated the deal.
Uzbek officials said they willexport more than 600 megawatts of power to Afghanistan for the next ten years,based on the agreement.
'This agreement between Afghanistanand Uzbekistan is for ten years. Based on the agreement, electricity exports toAfghanistan will increase, said Shirzad Khadijev, Deputy Minister of Energy ofUzbekistan.
Officials said the agreement willhelp Afghanistan save $600 million.
Afghanistan currently importselectricity from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, although a recentinsurgent attack destroyed pylons carrying power from Uzbekistan, causingblackouts in Kabul and across a third of the country.
Amid the ongoing emergency, the USState Department on Thursday issued a statement criticizing the Afghangovernment's procurement policies, oversight committee, and financialmanagement practices, related in part to energy projects. The US says it is notabandoning a large energy transmission project in Afghanistan's south, but itis withholding funds and cutting programs, 'due to identified Afghancorruption the statement said. (Tolo news)
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