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ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Jan. 10
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
The Turkmen State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs has obtained permission to conclude an agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development on financing the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen president’s decree.
The Saudi Fund for Development allocated funds for the purchase of gas pipes from the Global Pipe Company for the construction of the Turkmen section of the TAPI gas pipeline in 2017.
In a letter to the Turkmen president in 2018, Saudi Arabian king stressed that the Saudi Fund for Development supports the TAPI project.
Saudi Arabia’s Al-Riyadh newspaper in 2019 wrote that Saudi Aramco is also considering the issue of supporting the financing of this project.
The construction of the Turkmen section of the TAPI gas pipeline was launched in December 2015. The construction of the Afghan section has been recently launched. Pakistan plans to begin the operations on TAPI this year.
The Turkmengas State Concern is the leader of the TAPI Pipeline Company Ltd. international consortium. It makes decisions regarding the investors and acts as the main financier and manager of the project. The consortium also includes Afghan Gas Corporation, Pakistan’s Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Limited Company and India’s GAIL Company.
Possible costs of the TAPI project vary between $7-8 billion. The consortium with the participation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) continues to actively hold negotiations with all interested parties.
Various options for participation in the project, such as project financing, financing through international development banks and through the export credit agencies from various countries, are being considered.
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.
The fuel will be exported via TAPI gas pipeline from Galkynysh field, the second biggest gas field in the world.