ST. PETERSBURG (UPI) – Russia is willing to help finance an ambitious Central Asian regional electricity transmission project, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.

Putin told a gathering of prime ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries Monday in St. Petersburg, Russia, that his country is prepared to invest $500 million in the “CASA-1000” project.

The project, which has received backing from the World Bank, envisions building a 1,000-MW transmission line from hydropower generators in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan, which are seeking more reliable and cheaper sources of electricity.

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