Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Nov. 15 / Trend H.Hasanov /
After the talks between Turkmenistan and Pakistan a Joint Declaration on the sale of gas on Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project was signed in Islamabad, said the Turkmen government on Tuesday.
The report said that the signing took place as a result of the visit of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov in Islamabad these days. He held talks with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Gilani said that "the implementation of the largest regional gas project as TAPI and putting it into operation is a key factor for economic growth of Pakistan, whose industrial and infrastructural development is directly dependent on energy supplies."
"Turkmenistan sees a reliable partner in Pakistan," said Berdymukhamedov in turn.
This project is actively promoting by the Asian Development Bank that funding the training of its technical and economic feasibility. The basic document for the promotion of TAPI is the inter-state agreement on the start of TAPI, signed in Ashgabat on a high level in December 2010.
At this stage, the parties involved in the project hold negotiations on the security of transit, settle the question of funding.
The length of TAPI can hit more than 1,700 km, its design capacity - 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, the cost is estimated at $7-8 billion.
The source of raw materials in addition to the Dovletabad field will be Yoloten field - one of the world's super-giants with the resources of 21.2 trillion cubic meters of gas. Turkmenistan is taking active measures for its commercial development.