Cooperation between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan in the energy sector is developing steadily, stated the Minister of Energy Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov at a press conference on Tuesday.

“In the last two months, I have been there three times. Thank God, the country is calm. Serious steps are also being taken in the country itself to develop the economy, and this is impossible without energy resources, without power,” he said.

According to him, the Afghan authorities are fully performing its obligations to pay for the supplied power.

“The current government has fully repaid the debts of the previous one. As for payment for the supplied power: there are no delays from the Afghanistan, payments are made in time,” the minister underscored.

Mirzamakhmudov reported that Uzbekistan had commenced the 500 kV Puli-Khumri power transmission line project, which would significantly increase power exports.

“On the directives of the president, we are now working on expanding cooperation. As you know, we have already erected lines and expanded substations to Surkhandarya. Now a new 500 kV Puli-Khumri power transmission line is being built. In September, we signed a contract and have already commenced work,” he added.

According to the minister, the Uzbek and Afghan governments have set themselves an ambitious goal – to complete the construction of the line in 18 months, or by April 1, 2027.

“We agreed with the Afghan authorities that the project will be completed within 18 months. After its implementation, power exports from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan will increase several times,” Mirzamakhmudov concluded.

Earlier, on August 17, Uzbekistan signed a number of agreements with Afghanistan with a total investment volume of $250 million (previously reported as $243 million), including:

• 200.6 km 500 kV Surkhan-Puli-Khumri power transmission line project and the Khodja-Alvan substation expansion project;
• Arganda substation to 500/220 kV expansion and capacity increase to 800 MVA;
• 125 km 220 kV double-circuit power transmission line project from Butkhak substation (Kabul) to Sheikh Misri substation (Nangarhar);
• 2x25 MVA and 2x40 MVA 220 kV Sheikh Misri substation (Nangarhar) project.

Uzbekistan has been supplying power to Afghanistan since 2002. In December last year, Uzbekistan extended the contract on power exports to Afghanistan until 2025. Afghanistan imports 80% of its power from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran, with the remainder produced domestically.

The two-way trade between the countries increased by 1.5 times in nine months – from $762.1 million to $1.15 billion. For Uzbekistan, this is the fourth largest export market (3.8% of total exports excluding gold) after Russia (12.2%), China (5.2%), and Kazakhstan (4%).

According to the National Statistics Committee, from January to September, Uzbekistan exported $114.8 million worth of power, which is 1.5 times more than the figure for the same period last year.