Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 14
By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is ready to continue rendering technical and financial support for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, Wencai Zhang, ADB Vice-President, said.
He made this statement at a meeting with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in Ashgabat, Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary agency reported.
"The Asian Development Bank intends to continue rendering technical and financial support in the implementation of major investment projects, including the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) transnational gas pipeline, initiated by the president of Turkmenistan," the statement said.
In this regard, Wencai stressed the importance of the TAPI project implementation, which is economically beneficial to all participating and regional countries as a whole.
ADB acts as a transactional advisor of the TAPI project.
During the talks, the banking and financial sector, fuel and energy complex, transport and communications, power engineering are among the priorities, the statement says.
It was stressed during the meeting that ADB plans to render support to small and medium enterprises in Turkmenistan, staff training programs.
In conclusion, the president of Turkmenistan and his guest expressed confidence in further promoting the mutually beneficial partnership that is in mutual interests.
The basic document for the promotion of TAPI is the Ashgabat interstate agreement signed between the participating states in 2010 on starting the practical implementation of this project.
The length of TAPI gas pipeline will be 1,800 kilometers, of which 200 kilometers will run though Turkmenistan, 773 kilometers - Afghanistan, 827 kilometers - Pakistan (to Fazilka settlement on the border with India). It is designed to meet the gas demand of the industry of the countries with the population of over 1.5 billion.
The annual pumping capacity of the gas pipeline will be 33 billion cubic meters.
The project cost of TAPI is $10 billion.
The gas pipeline must stretch from the largest gas field in Turkmenistan - Galkynysh.
Edited by CN
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