Pajhwok07/06/2012By Tamkin[Printer Friendly Version] SHIBERGHAN - A big project for the import of power from Turkmenistan to northern Afghanistan, benefitting half million residents of Jawzjan province, had been launched, a Cabinet minister said on Thursday. Water and Energy Minister Mohammad Ismail Khan told reporters in Shiberghan that the power extension project would cover a 400 kilometre area of Turkmenistan and 46 kilometres in the Andkhoi district of Faryab province. As part of the plan, a power substation with 800 megawatts capacity would be built in Andkhoi, supplying electricity to Sar-i-Pul, Faryab, Balkh and Samangan provinces, the minister said. The Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded project will cost $225 million, according to Khan, who explained $25 million would be spent on modernising Jawzjan's electricity system and $200 million on power extension from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan. He said the project would be completed by the end of 2013. “I’m committed to keeping my promise, which is certainly not a hollow slogan. The project will resolve electricity problem of Jawzjan residents.'' Speaking on the occasion, Governor Mohammad Alim Sayee said the province faced many problems, including a drought and flooding that threatened to wash away thousands of acres of land in Qarqin and Khamab districts. He warned the district would cease to be part of Afghanistan if embankments along the Amu River were not constructed in two years.
