USAID's Power Transmission Expansion and Connectivity Project: Arghandi Ghazni Transmission Line Was Generally Built to Contract Requirements, but Four Deficiencies Create Safety Hazards and Could Disrupt Electrical Power
Abstract
On December 5, 2012, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) issued an implementation letter to fund the Power Transmission Expansion and Connectivity (PTEC) project in Afghanistan. According to USAID, the 10-year project has an on budget ceiling of $317 million. Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), the Afghan governments electrical utility, is responsible for implementing PTEC in collaboration with the Afghan Ministry of Finance. The PTEC project consists of three componentsenergy infrastructure construction, DABS commercialization, and private sector energy developmentand is expected to improve the power supply for 2.4 million Afghans. On March 26, 2014, as part of PTECs energy infrastructure component, DABS awarded KEC International Ltd. a $56.7 million contract to design, supply, and construct a 76-mile-long, 220-kilovolt double-circuit transmission line between Arghandi and Ghazni. After four contract amendments, the components completion date was extended from December 31, 2016, to August 31, 2017, and the contracts value increased to $59.2 million. In April 2015, USAID contracted with Tetra Tech Inc. to provide construction management and quality assurance services, capacity building, and mediaassistance for the project. KEC International completed the project on August 31, 2017. The objectives of this inspection were to determine whether the PTEC transmission towers and line between Arghandi and Ghazni (1) were constructed according to contract requirements and applicable construction standards, and (2) are used and maintained.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1137656
Entities
People
- Ahmad J. Khairandish
- Farid Akrami
- Steven Haughton
- William Shimp
- Yogin Rawal
Organizations
- Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction