Afghan, Uzbek officials agree to accelerate Surkhan–Pul-i-Khumri power project — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): Officials from Afghanistan and Uzbekistan have agreed to remove obstacles and accelerate the remaining work on the 500-kilovolt Surkhan–Pul-i-Khumri power transmission project, stressing the need for a concrete work plan to make up for delays. Mohammad Sediq Haqparast, spokesman for Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), told Pajhwok Afghan News that the company’s chief executive officer, Mullah Abdul Haq Hamkar, had met Uzbekistan’s deputy energy minister and technical officials in Tashkent. The meeting discussed project financing, financial payments, the selection of companies to manufacture substation equipment, completion of designs and technical documents, resolution of discrepancies between technical requirements and commercial documents, and the resumption of suspended activities at the project site, he said. Haqparast noted that work on the Surkhan–Pul-i-Khumri power transmission project remained at an early stage. Emphasising its strategic and economic importance, he said its completion would expand energy cooperation and electricity trade between the two countries, increase Afghanistan’s power supply capacity and strengthen the country’s electricity network. He added that participants had stressed the need for a specific and practical work plan to accelerate the remaining activities and make up for delays. The two sides agreed to step up joint efforts to remove existing obstacles, improve coordination among relevant institutions and speed up implementation to ensure the project was completed and commissioned according to the agreed…