Tapi project, Afghanistan’s regional interest
KABUL: (MEP) – An agreement linked to the TAPI gas pipeline project was inked between representatives from Afghanistan and Turkmenistan on July 9th, 2013 in the Turkmen capital Ishqabad and currently economic and political aspects of the project forms media headline, BNA reported.
The agreement was signed between delegation from the Ministry of Mines, Afghan Gas and the Turkmen Ministry for petroleum and gas on the bases of which a project for transfer of natural gas from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan and Pakistan and onward to India would be possible. The project will help these countries to utilize the natural gas for industrial development, chemical material production and power generation. However, an agreement had been reached for transfer of natural gas from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan and onward to Pakistan and India on May 2012. The TAPI gas pipeline project has 1880 km length passes through Afghan territory with 745 km length, 800 km in Pakistani soil and the rest on Indian Territory.
Financial expenditures to the project has been pledged by the Asian Development Bank (ADB)including financial assistance for its technical and human resource and its expected that working process on the project would be initiated by the end of October 2014 and would be completed until the end of 2018 and would be implemented for almost thirty years. In the first ten years, Afghanistan would receive nearly one billion Quebec meter gas and the gas which is received by Afghanistan would be utilized for energy production and an amount of $450 million would go to account of Afghan government on an annual basis. Neighboring Pakistan and India would also receive 48 million Quebec meters gas each annually. The project will be completed until the end of 2018. An advisory commission is already working to evaluate and study gas purchasing process and services related to the project and the project will be put to public utility until the end of 2018. Neighboring as part of its destructive policies strived to join the (peace pipeline) among Iran, Pakistan and Iran, because , Pakistan was striving to halt the way for Afghanistan in the TAPI project, but, Islamabad failed to implement the (peace pipeline project) due to the political pressures imposed on the neighboring country by the US and the decision favored the TAPI gas pipeline project and it became applicable only through the effective diplomacy pursued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan. It’s quite significant to mention that implementation the project supports the regional nations to further accelerate bilateral cooperation and energy production capacity which has major impacts on economic sustainability in the ongoing world scenario.
