Alerts. Real-time analysis of events occurring at the intersection of economics, finance and global security concerns.

In an ambitious project that would create increased connectivity between China’s Silk Road Economic Belt, one of the foundational axes of its “One Belt One Road” initiative, and its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Pakistan announced it had received a single bid from Chinese company Tebian Electric Apparatus to build a 750-km power line that would link Pakistan to Tajikistan and Afghanistan.  According to reports, 75% of the line will pass through Afghanistan, 16% through Tajikistan, and 9% through Pakistan.

Tebian also placed a bid on a separate tender for two transmission stations that will link up with the power line.  Together, these projects are part of the Central Asia-South Asia 1000 project.  Other companies that bid on the second tender included Alstom, GE, Siemens, and ABB.  Unnamed Indian firms also bid on the Afghanistan section, but Pakistani objections resulted in those bids being rejected out of hand.  Both the World Bank and Islamic Development Bank have pledged assistance for the transmission station project.