Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Dec. 21
By Huseyn Hasanov– Trend:
Russia is ready to contribute to the peace process in Afghanistan by taking part in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, Trend reports with reference to the website of Russian President Vladimir Putin, where his speech from the annual press conference was published.
“We presume that the Afghan people will still be able to agree among themselves, all political forces, ethnic groups will be able to come to a consensus,” he said. “As far as we can, we will contribute to this process, including by developing economic cooperation with Afghanistan, by taking part in various international projects, such as, for example, the TAPI,” said the president's message.
He said that negotiations are underway with the Taliban movement in Afghanistan.
“Maybe this is inevitable,” he noted. “It is only necessary to understand the subject of these negotiations, and what they will lead to. If there is a real force that controls a significant part of the territories, this force must be taken into account, but then it must be done openly, publicly.”
The construction of the pipeline began in December 2015. The possible costs of the TAPI project vary within $7-10 billion.
The consortium, with the participation of the Asian development Bank (ADB), continues active negotiations with all interested parties. Various options of participation in the project, such as participation in the company's share, project financing, financing through international development banks and with the help of export credit agencies from around the world are being examined.
As the leader of TAPI Pipeline company Limited, Turkmengas State Concern, which has a controlling stake, acts as the main financier and project manager. The consortium also includes the Afghanistan Gas Corporation, Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Limited and Indian GAIL.
The total length of the pipeline, with a capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year will be 1,840 kilometers. The fuel will be supplied from the Galkynysh gas field in Turkmenistan, the second largest in the world.
The length of the Turkmen section will be 205 kilometers.
Then, this energy bridge will pass through the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandahar (816 kilometers), through the cities of Quetta and Multan across Pakistani territory (819 kilometers), and reach the settlement of Fazilka in India.