India undertaking heaviest airlifting to light up Kabul

New Delhi: India will begin its heaviest airlifting operations Sunday to transport five mega transformers to Kabul as part of its attempt to provide electricity to the Afghan capital. The air route is being preferred over sea and land to avoid delays and to minimise the risk of the transformers becoming targets of the rejuvenated Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
“We expect to complete our part of the work by October this year,” an Indian official told IANS over telephone from Kabul.
The transformers are for a sub-station in Kabul, which is part of the power transmission project India has undertaken. The Power Grid Corp of India is implementing a $111 million project to set up power transmission lines in Afghanistan.
It involves laying a double-circuit transmission line from Pul-e-Khurmi to Kabul and constructing a 220 KV sub-station in the Afghan capital.
The airlift, the heaviest India has undertaken so far, will be done aboard AN-124 aircraft, considered the world’s largest transport planes. They can carry up to 120 tonnes of cargo.
The movement of the three 40 MVA transformers will be done May 4, 5 and 7. The two heavier transformers will be carried in separate air operations, later in the month.
03/05/08 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

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Categories: Cargo May 2008, Foreign May 2008