VZCZCXRO8938
OO RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #2339/01 2020414
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 210414Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9215
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC 0523
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 002339 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/A, SCA/FO (A/S BOUCHER, GASTRIGHT, DEUTSCH) 
STATE PASS USTDA FOR DSTEIN/SGREENIP 
STATE PASS OPIC, USAID 
OPIC FOR MOSBACHER/ZAHNISER/STEELE 
MANILA PLEASE PASS ADB/USED 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN 
USAID FOR JKUNDER, MWARD 
TREASURY FOR ABAUKOL 
OSD FOR SHINN, SHIVERS 
CENTCOM FOR CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD, JICENT 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG ECON EPET ETRD KPWR EAID PGOV AF
SUBJECT: Afghanistan Energy: TURKMEN POWER 
 
Ref:  A) Kabul 1583/1206/1033/936/935/692/317/274 
B) Kabul 162 C) 06 Kabul 5353 
 
KABUL 00002339  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On July 17, citing President Karzai's July 5 and 6 
visit to Ashgabat, the Afghan National Security Advisor (NSA) 
clarified comments that the Minister for Economics (MOE) had earlier 
made to the Ambassador concerning Government of Afghanistan (GoA) 
efforts to import electric power from Turkmenistan.  The NSA 
characterized the Turkmen President as accommodating on this issue, 
though price and proposed electric transmission line routing issues 
were not discussed at the Presidential level.  The Government of 
Turkmenistan (GOTX) is interested in a natural gas pipeline to India 
(the TAPI project), and in rail connections through Afghanistan to 
Tajikistan (and possibly China).  This good news from Ashgabat 
complements similar good news that, during the Minister of 
Economics' early June trip to Tashkent, the Government of Uzbekistan 
(GOU) was forthcoming on constructing a transmission line to the 
border with Afghanistan.  End Summary 
 
¶2. (SBU)  On July 17, the Afghan NSA, Dr. Zalmai Rassoul briefed the 
Economic Counselor and AID Mission Energy Office Director on the 
broad outlines of the economic aspects of President Karzai's trip. 
The atmospherics of Karzai's visit were excellent, and the Afghan 
perception is that the GOTX wants good relations with Afghanistan as 
a southern neighbor who offers alternative economic and political 
links to reliance on Russia, or on neighboring Uzbekistan. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Dr. Rassoul explained that the GOTX promised to sell 
electricity to Afghanistan, and facilitate its export through the 
major North Afghanistan city of Mazar-i-Sharif.  However, the price, 
and the routing of the electric power transmission lines were not 
discussed at the Presidential level.  He confirmed press reports 
that, as a good-will gesture, the GOTX agreed to provide electricity 
worth about $300,000 to Afghan border districts between Andkhvoy 
(Faryab Province) and Qarqin (Jowzian Province).  (The GOTX already 
exports some electricity to Afghanistan at Andkhvoy.  The GoA wants 
to build a new border crossing at Keleft town in Qarqin district, 
Jowzian Province.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) Dr. Rassoul also explained that the GOTX is considering 
expanding its railroad lines through Afghanistan to Tajikistan and 
perhaps into China.  The GoA understands the GOTX's intent as 
by-passing the Uzbeks, who can be difficult.  As an initial gesture, 
the Turkmen offered to pay the $500,000 price to rebuild five 
kilometers of Turkmen railroad from the border crossing town of 
Gusgy, Turkmenistan to Towraghondi, Herat Province, Afghanistan. 
The Soviets had built this railroad line during the occupation, but 
the mujahideen had sold the iron rails for scrap.  He noted that, as 
a completely separate project, the Kazakhs have talked about 
extending the railroad from the Uzbek crossing point of 
Termiz/Jeyretan (Hairatan) to the Torkham border crossing point into 
Pakistan at the Khyber Pass.  These projects, if completed, would 
facilitate the GoA goal to make Afghanistan into the transportation 
hub of South and Central Asia. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The NSA confirmed that the Turkmen want to revive the 
dormant TAPI (Turkmenistan - Afghanistan - Pakistan - India) natural 
gas pipeline transmission project as part of a larger effort to 
diversify their pipeline export routes.  At present, the Turkmen 
export gas through Russia and Iran.  They want to build three new 
export pipelines, including one through Northern Afghanistan to 
Tajikistan and China, and the trans-Caspian to Turkey, plus TAPI. 
However, the Afghans understand that the TAPI plan has sparked some 
opposition because it would diminish the Russian-Iranian duopoly on 
exporting Turkmen gas.  The Russians are saying that the Turkmen 
natural gas reserves to feed the TAPI pipeline are too small, while 
the GOTX defends the size of those reserves as adequate. 
 
¶6. (SBU) In an earlier July 7 conversation with the Ambassador, 
Minister of Economics Mohammed Jalil Shams, who is also the chairman 
of the Inter-ministerial Council on Energy (ICE), told the 
Ambassador and EconCouns that during his own June 10 visit to 
 
KABUL 00002339  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Ashgabat, the GOTX rejected the Government of Afghanistan (GoA) 
request that the power lines cross the border at the Afghan town of 
Keleft in Qarqin district because Turkmen transmission lines would 
cross the Amu Darya River twice.  The GoA prefers Keleft, which is 
closer to Mazar-e-Sharif, while the GOTX prefers a crossing closer 
to the Afghan towns of Aqeena and Khamvat.  The GOTX-preferred route 
involves a longer distance within Afghanistan and is more expensive 
for the Afghans.  Shams speculated that the GOTX had first rejected 
his request in early June to allow it to be more accommodating with 
President Karzai in early July. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Shams added that the GOTX admitted it would need 30 months, 
instead of 18 months, to construct a new electric power plant to 
supply 300 Megawatts of power to the Afghans.  (The GoA had 
previously understood that the Turkmen had 1,000 MW of surplus power 
available for export.)  When the Ambassador asked why a USAID 
consultant was not included on Shams' delegation as an expert who 
might have facilitated a more detailed discussion of electricity 
pricing, Shams speculated that senior officials within the MEW 
objected to him. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Shams reported that the GOU was surprisingly forthcoming 
during his visit to Tashkent, saying it would finance both the 
rehabilitation of a substation on the border, and the construction 
of a new electric power transmission line, which is scheduled to be 
finished by end 2008.  (FYI: Recently, the Koreans offered to help 
construct the Uzbek portion of the transmission line to the Afghan 
border, and the Embassy is contacting the Korean Embassy here for 
details.) 
 
¶9. (SBU)  On energy aid from Japan, Shams said that the Japanese 
have asked ICE to prioritize between two proposed projects - 
rehabilitating the electric distribution system in Kabul, and 
closing gaps in the Northeast Power System (NEPS).  The Japanese 
Embassy has pointed out that the Japan International Cooperation 
Agency (JICA) just completed in March 2007 a study of the Kabul 
distribution system, and that, if ICE put this project as its first 
priority, implementation could go ahead faster than the "NEPS gaps" 
project. 
 
WOOD