ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic signed on Thursday a protocol for the early completion of a regional electricity transmission project for which Russia has offered a financing facility of $500 million.

The Inter-Governmental Council meeting for CASA-1000 attended by the power  ministers of the four countries agreed to take concrete measures for the implementation of the project, according to a statement issued here at the end of the two-day talks in Dubai.

Federal Minister for Water and Power Syed Naveed Qamar signed the protocol on behalf of Pakistan.

Under the project, an electricity transmission link between the Central Asian and South Asian countries will be established. In the first phase, the link will provide 1000MW to Pakistan.

In the subsequent phases, 5,000MW to 6,000MW could be supplied from the Central Asian countries to Pakistan. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have also offered to export their surplus power to Pakistan.

The decisions related to the project include structuring of the project, appointment of the executive director for the project secretariat, roles and responsibilities of country working groups to move ahead with the project, and financial options and other issues to speed up its implementation.

The CASA-1000 member countries reiterated their full commitment to the project, while the World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank also expressed their commitment to finance it.

Addressing the final session of the meeting, Mr Qamar said the project was important for Pakistan because its economy had been hit hard by severe power shortages.

He thanked all ministers and other participants for their hard work to expedite the signing of the project protocol.