Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Dec. 10
By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend:
In his report on the country's energy strategy released by all national media outlets on December 10, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said that the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project will be implemented in the foreseeable future.
"There is no doubt that this project will be implemented in the foreseeable future," a report quoted by the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper says.
The preparatory work has been completed. The main parameters of the TAPI gas pipeline construction have been coordinated, the report says.
The meeting of the TAPI steering committee has been recently held in Ashgabat. It decided to announce an international tender to choose a TAPI Ltd. consortium leader.
Turkmengaz State Concern, Afghan Gas Corporation, Pakistan's "Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Limited" and Indian "GAIL (India) Limited" with equal shares have recently established "TAPI Ltd." operating company. It will own the pipeline in the future.
The project implementation can begin in 2015, the sides said.
The basic document for its implementation is Ashgabat's interstate agreement signed among the participating countries in 2010.
The design capacity of the TAPI will be up to 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year, while the expected lifetime is 30 years.
The total length of TAPI will reach 1,735 kilometers. Some 200 kilometers of the pipeline will run through Turkmenistan, 735 kilometers - through Afghanistan, 800 kilometers - through Pakistan to the settlement of Fazilka, located on the border with India.