CASA energy market proposed
Federal Minister for Power Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari proposed on Thursday that Pakistan and Central Asian countries should work closely to develop a Central Asia-South Asia (CASA) energy market, modelled on the European energy grid, to enable all nations in the region to fully harness their renewable and conventional energy potential.
The minister presented this proposal during a meeting in Islamabad with Kyrgyzstan Minister for Energy Ibrarv Taalaibek Omukeevich.
Welcoming his counterpart, Leghari stated that a practical approach was required for the implementation of the CASA-1000 power supply project, which ensures seasonal availability of inexpensive electricity in both regions. He suggested that all participating countries should collaborate to finalise the project's details and prove its economic viability.
Citing remarks by Pakistan's leadership on how Afghanistan's stability was directly linked to regional connectivity, the federal minister underscored that the success of any regional project depended on close cooperation. He told the Kyrgyz minister that Pakistan's portion of the CASA-1000 project was scheduled for completion by mid-2026. As both nations had invested in the initiative, he proposed exploring all options to enhance its economic feasibility.
Leghari also proposed the inclusion of Pakistan's northern areas in feasibility studies for a joint Kyrgyz-China transmission project. He presented a five-point framework for future bilateral energy cooperation, which included forming a joint working group on hydropower projects to share expertise, making joint efforts to advance the CASA-1000 project, exchanging a list of specialised fields to facilitate the engagement of Pakistan's skilled workforce, including northern Pakistan in the feasibility for China-Kyrgyzstan grid interconnection and establishing dedicated joint working groups to drive collaboration. Both sides agreed to increase high-level engagements to jointly address challenges in implementing various projects, including CASA-1000. They also agreed to organise an expert-level meeting in Bishkek with participants from Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and the World Bank to formulate a joint strategy.
The Kyrgyzstan minister for energy said that his country was ready to extend all sort of cooperation in order to further boost existing ties between the two countries. He also acknowledged the proposal of closer coordination between the two countries. Separately, Federal Minister for Power Awais Ahmed Leghari met a Canadian delegation, led by High Commissioner Tarik Ali Khan. The meeting focused on avenues for bilateral cooperation and investment opportunities in Pakistan's energy sector.
During the discussion, Tarik Ali Khan expressed the interest of Canadian companies in investing in Pakistan's power generation sector. The minister clarified that the government of Pakistan did not intend to make additional generation in the future and highlighted that the real investment potential lies in transmission, network upgrading and modern technologies.
Following the minister's remarks, the high commissioner conveyed his interest in the transmission sector, noting that Canadian companies were keen to explore viable investment models and opportunities. It was mutually agreed that the Power Division would share details of potential projects in transmission, renewable energy and battery energy storage systems to accelerate practical progress. Leghari underscored Pakistan's ongoing transition towards a competitive electricity market, under which the traditional government power purchase model would gradually be phased out and more space and opportunities would be created for private sector participation. He added that the Pakistan Business Council had also shown interest in transmission projects under the public-private partnership model, opening avenues for collaboration with Canadian firms.
The minister informed the delegation about the ongoing utility-scale solar project in Gilgit-Baltistan. Its feasibility study will be completed soon and approximately 85 megawatts of demand has been identified across four to five locations, which offers a significant investment opportunity. In addition, there are investment prospects for Gwadar's energy and infrastructure development.
The power minister reiterated the government's commitment to advancing all future projects under the least-cost principle and highlighted the extensive potential for investment in battery energy storage to strengthen Pakistan's power system. The meeting concluded on a positive note, with both sides agreeing to maintain close engagement, enhance technical cooperation and continue sharing project details to promote Canadian investment in Pakistan's energy sector.