Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept. 25
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted to boost the construction of the Afghan section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline as one of the country's priorities, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen government.
The statement was made at the meeting of the People’s Council - the highest representative body of Turkmenistan in Ashgabat.
The operations on laying the Turkmen section of the TAPI gas pipeline are planned to be completed till late 2019, the construction of which was launched in December 2015. The construction of the Afghan section was launched in February 2018. Pakistan plans to begin the operations on TAPI this year.
Earlier it was reported about the conducted geological and technical surveys, soil research, terrain; international tenders for the selection of contractors and suppliers; resolving the issues on the allocation of land plots for the construction of pipelines, as well as their operation. The buyers are gas companies from Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
The participating countries established the TAPI Pipeline Company Limited consortium, the leader of which was Turkmengas state concern. The project is being promoted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which acts as a project transaction advisor.
TAPI's resource base will be Galkynysh field, the second biggest gas field in the world (after South Pars field in Iran). The total length of the TAPI gas pipeline with a capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year will be approximately 1,840 kilometers. Instability in transit Afghanistan remains a great obstacle, but Kabul says it will be able to ensure the safety of the route.