Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept. 22
By Huseyn Hasanov– Trend:
The State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs of Turkmenistan on behalf of the government as the borrower and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) will conclude an agreement to finance construction of the Turkmen section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, the Turkmen government said in a message Sept. 22.
The corresponding decree was signed by Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
“Already now one can talk of the TAPI as of a real and effective stabilizing factor, which in the long term can have a positive impact on the overall situation in Central and South Asia, as well as in the neighboring regions, bringing additional stability to the entire system of political and economic relations in the Asian part of Eurasia,” the message said.
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 annual capacity of the gas pipeline will reach 33 billion cubic meters. It is planned that the total length of the TAPI pipeline will be 1,814 kilometers. Some 214 kilometers will pass through the territory of Turkmenistan, 774 kilometers - Afghanistan, 826 kilometers - Pakistan.
The project is expected to be completed in late 2019.