By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Turkmenistan have decided to accelerate work on the TAPI pipeline project.
The pipeline is expected to carry 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas each year along a route stretching 1,800 km (1,125 miles) from Galkynysh, the world’s second-biggest gas field, to the Indian city of Fazilka near the Pakistan border.
“Pakistan and Turkmenistan have decided to accelerate work on TAPI gas pipeline project,” Radio Pakistan reported after Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik met the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Cabinet of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredow, who was on a two-day visit to Pakistan. “Substantial progress has been made through collaboration on the TAPI Gas Pipeline project aimed at promoting economic integration and energy security,” Musadik was quoted as saying by Radio Pakistan.
The CEO of TAPI Pipeline Company who was also at the meeting said the pipeline project had made “significant progress and was on the right track due to the interest of Pakistan’s Ministry of Petroleum and Special Investment Facilitation Council.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredow said that a “roadmap” would be prepared for enhancing cooperation between Pakistan and Turkmenistan.
Under the project, a 56-inch diameter 1,680 kilometers pipeline, having the capacity to flow 3.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) gas, would be laid from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan up to the Pak-India border. As per the TAPI agreement, Pakistan and India will be provided 1.325 bcfd (billion cubic feet per day) gas each and Afghanistan will be getting the share of 0.5 bcfd gas.
Back in June, Pakistan and Turkmenistan signed a joint implementation plan in Islamabad on Thursday to execute Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project.
The ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a Turkmenistan delegation led by Minister of Energy and Water Resources Daler Juma’a.
Earlier, Pakistani Federal Minister for Petroleum, Dr. Musadik Malik, met with Mr. Rashid Meredov, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, in Islamabad on Wednesday, July 24, to discuss the expedition of the delayed TAPI gas pipeline.
The iconic two-day visit to Pakistan signifies a significant milestone in enhancing bilateral relations between the two nations, which are jointly working on the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) pipeline project.
