Pakistan substantially completes its CASA-1000 infrastructure

ISLAMABAD, Aug 27 (APP):Pakistan has substantially completed its infrastructure under the CASA-1000 Electricity Transmission and Trade Project, with work on the converter station reaching 99.7% and the associated electrode station 99.5%.

Pakistan has substantially completed infrastructure works under the CASA-1000 Electricity Transmission and Trade Project, with the converter station reaching 99.7% completion and the associated grounding electrode station 99.5%.

According to project status document available with Wealth Pakistan, the Pakistan-side works involve construction of a bi-pole ±500kV high-voltage direct-current converter station along with a 66kV grounding electrode station. At the converter station, engineering and design have reached 97%, procurement 100%, civil works 99.9%, installation 99.9%, and testing and commissioning 99%. Overall progress on the converter station stands at 99.7%.

The electrode station has also reached an advanced stage, with engineering and design 100% complete. Procurement, civil works, and installation are each 99% complete, while testing and commissioning have reached 98%. Overall progress stands at 99.5%.

According to the document, the project has been substantially completed, but full commissioning will remain pending until completion of the Afghanistan transmission line, which is expected in September 2027.

Until then, the stations will remain under the care and custody of M/s Hitachi from April 1, 2026, to February 29, 2028.

The document states that commercial operations are expected to start from May 1, 2028. However, full system testing and commissioning depend on the availability of the Afghanistan transmission line.

The Pakistan component is supported by two World Bank loans. Loan IDA-54090-PK has a total amount of $120 million, of which $99.437 million, or 82.86%, has been utilised.

The second loan, IDA-64320-PK, amounts to $65 million, of which $56.821 million, or 87.41%, has been utilised. The document lists unutilised amounts of $9.742 million under the first loan and $5.690 million under the second. Both loans have a closing date of December 31, 2028.

The first loan was signed on May 11, 2015, and became effective on January 24, 2018, while the second was signed on November 26, 2019, and became effective on May 15, 2020.

With the converter and electrode stations almost complete, Pakistan’s remaining project activities are largely linked to testing and commissioning, which cannot be fully undertaken until the Afghanistan transmission segment becomes available.