To speed up work on Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India (TAPI) gas pipeline project and finish the feasibility study as soon as possible, Pakistan and Turkmenistan recently signed a Joint Implementation Plan (JIP).
About TAPI Pipeline:
- It is an 1,814-kilometre pipeline that aims to transport 33 billion cubic metres of gas from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and finally, India.
- It is also called the ‘Peace Pipeline’.
- Route:
- It will start from the Galkynysh gas field in Turkmenistan.
- It will then pass through Afghanistan and Pakistan to finally reach the Indian town of Fazilka(near the Indo-Pak border).
- Capacity: At full capacity, the pipeline will transport 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas annually from TKM to respective buyers in AFG (5%), PAK (47.5%) and IND (47.5%) during the 30-year commercial operations period.
- The Project comprises the procurement, installation and operation of the pipeline and related facilities within Afghanistan and Pakistan.
- Timeline:
- The project was originally conceived in the 1990s, and an inter-governmental agreement was signed in 2010 by the heads of four member nations.
- A Gas Pipeline Framework Agreement was signed in December 2010, and a bilateral gas sale agreement was signed in May 2013.
- In February 2018, a ground-breaking ceremony for Afghanistan’s section of the TAPI gas pipeline was held in the western Afghan city of Herat.
- Financing:
- The TAPI project is being funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is also acting as transaction adviser for the development.
- Turkmenistan took a loan of $700m from the Islamic Development Bank for financing the project in December 2016.
- The remaining three countries made an initial investment of $200m in the TAPI project.
