Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Feb. 4
By Huseyn Hasanov– Trend:
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov has instructed to intensify the work on the implementation of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline construction project, which is strategically important for the entire region, Trend reports with the reference to the Turkmen government.
Turkmenistan launched construction of its section of the TAPI in December 2015, and the Afghan section in February 2018. Pakistan plans to start the work in 2019.
Gas companies of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India are the buyers of gas as part of this project. Bangladesh also wants to join the TAPI as a buyer, but there has been no progress in this direction in 2018.
Participating states created a consortium, TAPI Pipeline Company Limited, and Turkmenistan’s state concern Turkmengas was chosen to lead the company. Negotiations are underway with potential participants.
The project is being promoted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is acting as a transaction adviser to the project.
Galkynysh, the second biggest gas field in the world (after South Pars in the Persian Gulf), will be a resource base for the TAPI.
TAPI’s design capacity is up to 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The gas pipeline, including its auxiliary ground infrastructure, is planned to be put into operation by 2020.
The pipeline’s length will be about 1,840 kilometers. Instability in transit Afghanistan is still a major obstacle to the implementation of the project, but Kabul says it will be able to ensure the safety of the route.
Russia shows interest for this project at a high level, its implementation is supported by the US, which oppose a similar project from Iran to Pakistan.