Kabul Launches Survey Work on TAPI Gas Pipeline Project

At the presidential palace in the Afghan capital, survey works were launched on construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. This is to include a study of the route, and engineering and feasibility studies for a gas facility in Afghanistan.

The launch ceremony was attended by the President of Afghanistan, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, the heads of ministries and departments of the participating countries of the project, the consortium TAPI Pipeline Company Ltd and the company ILF Beratende Ingenieure GmbH.

Similar surveys are expected to begin on the territory of Pakistan in the near future.. A contract was signed between TAPI Pipeline Company Ltd and ILF Beratende Ingenieure GmbH on January 17, in Ashgabat, for provision of services for project management and technical supervision for the TAPI pipeline.

The contract provides for cooperation between the parties prior to the stage of making a final investment decision on the TAPI project.

The construction of the Turkmen section of the TAPI gas pipeline, to be some 214 km long, was begun in December 2015 and works are said to be running on schedule.

SC Turkmengaz, under TAPI Pipeline Company Ltd, is the primary financier of the project, as well as manager. The consortium also includes Afghan Gas Corporation, Pakistani Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Ltd and India’s GAIL.

The total length of the pipeline will be 1814 kilometers, including 774 kilometers across the territory of Afghanistan and 826 kilometers to be laid in Pakistan until Fazilka village on the border with India. The gas pipeline will have an expected annual capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of gas, starting at the close of 2019.

The Government of Turkmenistan has submitted a request for funding of $700 million from the ADB to be used to cover the cost of materials, works and services within the TAPI project.

The Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline (TAPI), also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India.

Dimitri Dolaberidze