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America Wants Central Asian Energy Grid

The United States government is the key player pushing new plans for the construction of a regional pipeline and utility grid linking Central Asia and India. As per news reports, the American plan envisions a system from Almaty, Kazakhstan, south to Afghanistan, then Pakistan and on to New Delhi.

The U.S. assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, Richard Boucher, has said that under the plan oil and gas will be supplied from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and hydropower will be fed from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The electrical portion of the venture entails the establishment of a 500-kilovolt power line.

Boucher said that the U.S. wanted to help build new links among the countries of the broader region and connect them more closely to the rest of the world with the assistance of multilateral development banks and other donors. The U.S. has broadened contacts in Central Asia following the September 11 terror attacks, given that many of the countries are conveniently located near Afghanistan.