The World Bank has approved a US$48 million loan for a power line project designed to carry electricity from a 300-MW hydropower plant under construction in southern Kazakhstan.
The US$74 million Moinak project includes the construction of high-voltage transmission lines from the plant to the Shelik and Robot substations. The project has been deemed vital to meeting growing demand for electricity in the Almaty region. A shortage of generation capacity has led to restrictions on electricity consumption, said Sergei Shatalov, World Bank manager in Kazakhstan.
“Electricity demand in southern Kazakhstan is expected to increase by nearly 6 percent per year till 2020,” Shatalov said. “Existing and prospective energy shortages in the region are a barrier to both economic growth and human development.”
World Bank said this is the third loan it has provided to Kazakhstan for transmission improvements.
