Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Apr. 28
By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend:
President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov invited representatives of the business circles of Qatar to participate in the construction project of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) transnational gas pipeline, the Turkmen government said in a message Apr. 28.
The proposal was announced during the meeting of Turkmen president in Ashgabat with Head of the Qatar Olympic Committee Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani.
Berdimuhamedov said that a new energy main line is designed to ensure long-term supply of natural gas to major countries of South-East Asia, contribute to solve economic problems of the region, important social and humanitarian issues.
The main document for the TAPI, called the Ashgabat Interstate Agreement, was signed in 2010.
The groundbreaking ceremony for TAPI's Turkmen section was held in mid-December of 2015.
The pipeline's length can reach 1,814 kilometers, including 214 kilometers running through Turkmenistan, 774 kilometers - Afghanistan and 826 kilometers - Pakistan.
The State Concern 'Turkmengaz', which is the leader of the consortium TAPI Pipeline Company Limited, as well as Afghan gas Enterprise (Afghanistan), Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Limited (Pakistan) and Gail Limited (India), which entered this consortium in December 2015 as shareholders, achieved their first investment agreement worth $200 million Apr. 7.
It is expected that the first payments will be spent on development work. All this will allow carrying out studies to assess the location of the future route, environmental risks and help to identify the final amount of funds needed for the project.