KABUL : Uzbekistanis all poised to launch work on a major project that will boost power exports to energy-deficient Afghanistan by 70 percent.
Construction of the Afghan section of the 260-kilometer transmission line between Uzbekistan€™s Surkhan region and Pul-i-Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province, will start in June.
The Asian Development Bank has pledged $70 million for the project, which is expected to cost $150 million. Uzbekistan will chip in with $32 million, according to Eurasianet.
Uzbek energy Chief Executive Ulugbek Mustafayev as quoted as saying the transmission line would help Tashkent export up to 24 million kilowatt hours to Afghanistan daily.
