Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 31
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
Turkmenistan has invited the CIS member-states to participate in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen government on May 31.
During the meeting of the Council of Heads of Government in Ashgabat, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stressed that the work on the TAPI gas pipeline project is being carried out in full swing.
"This project opens up the prospects for the interested CIS member-states to participate in it,” the Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary state news agency reported citing the president as saying, “The matter rests in the construction of the related infrastructure, in services and the supply of equipment necessary for the project."
President Berdimuhamedov raised the issue of long-term energy supplies to the eastern and southern regions adjacent to the CIS, namely China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
"A number of the CIS member states are among the biggest producers and suppliers of hydrocarbons in Eurasia. A powerful resource base and transit advantages make it possible to implement large-scale unique projects for the supply of energy resources to the international markets," he said.
“The construction of a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China, part of which has been laid through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, can be cited as a vivid example,” he added.
The construction of the Turkmen section of TAPI was launched on December 13, 2015, while the construction of the Afghan section commenced in February 2018. Pakistan plans to start the work on its pipeline section this year.
The total length of the pipeline, with a capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year, will be 1,840 kilometers. The length of the Turkmen section will be 205 kilometers.
The energy bridge will then 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.
The leader of TAPI Pipeline Company Ltd is Turkmengas, which has the controlling stake and acts as the main financier and project manager. The consortium also includes the Afghan Gas Corporation, Pakistan’s Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Limited and Indian GAIL.
Turkmenistan holds one of the leading places in the world and ranks second in the CIS (after Russia) in terms of the gas reserves.