First Vice-President Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim opened along with Aqel Aqelov Prime Minister of Tajikistan the project for transmission of power of 220 kV from Tajikistan to Afghanistan. Addressing the gathering at the ceremony Marshal Fahim said that the Tajikistan Republic led by Imam Rehman (امامعلی رحمان) from the formation of interim administration till now has stretched the hand of friendship towards Afghanistan and for this reason our cultural and economic relations between the two nations is expanding with each passing day.

He added that during three decades of war, Afghanistan has lost all its possibilities and that was being continued and still we experience terror, suicide bombings and the Afghan leadership is exerting all efforts to restore peace in the country. He added that the power current from Sang Todah (سنگ توده) to Afghanistan has been transferred and your brothers and sisters are using it.

Barqi Tojik (برق تاجیک) power holding says Tajikistan now supplies electrical power in small amounts only to the Afghan city of Kunduz and the cost of Tajik electricity for Afghanistan is currently 3.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. The power transmission line is expected to begin to operate in full capacity at the end of spring of 2012.

Electricity generated by the Sangtuda-2 hydroelectric power plant (HPP) will be supplied to Afghanistan. “The Sangtuda-2 HPP offers its electrical power at 2.5 cents per one kWh, while current price of one kWh of electricity in Tajikistan is not more than 1.8 cents,” said the source, “Therefore, it was decided to use for export electricity, generated by the Sungtuda-2 HPP, at the rate of 3.1-3.5 cents per one kWh.”

A total cost the Tajikistan-Afghanistan 220 kV interconnection project that was launched in 2009 is US $56.5 million and it is financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, and the governments of Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

The line starts in the Sanguda-1 hydroelectric plant and is 281 km long, 118 km of which lies on the Tajik territory and the remaining 163 km on Afghan territory.

According to another report Marshal Fahim met with the Tajikistan Prime Minister in Bostan Sarai (بستانسرای) of Dushanbe. At the meeting they discussed historic ties between the two nations and both sides reiterated on further expansion of relations. The Tajikistan prime minister after gaining independence has concluded 25 cooperation agreements with Afghanistan. He expressed support to the Bonn Second and Istanbul Conferences which are expected to be convened in the near future and emphasized on the need for expansion of trade and noted that in recent years trade balance between the nations have been raised to 60%.