The $US3.2 billion Turkmenistan – Afghanistan – Pakistan – India (TAPI) Pipeline project includes the construction of a 1,460 km pipeline running from Turkmenistan’s Dauletabad-Donmez gas fields, through Afghanistan, to Multan in Pakistan. The pipeline will be extended to the port city of Gwadar, in Pakistan, where a gas-liquefaction plant would allow gas to be supplied to international destinations.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov’s comments regarding the pipeline came after the 5th meeting of the technical working group of the TAPI Pipeline, held in Ashgabat in August.

During the meeting, experts and specialists from Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and the Asian Development Bank discussed the critical technical issues related to acceleration of construction of the gas pipeline that would ensure long-term supplies of natural gas from Turkmenistan to the largest countries of the southern Asian region.

The attendees worked on drafting a framework agreement on the construction of the pipeline that is to be submitted to the governments participating in the project, along with drafting further agreements relating to the purchase and sale of Turkmen natural gas through the pipeline.

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In a statement following the meeting, Mr Berdimuhamedov said “Emphasis was put on the economic benefits to be received by all countries from the construction of the gas pipeline: by Turkmenistan as the gas exporter, by Pakistan and India whose economies urgently needed energy resources, and by Afghanistan as the consumer and transit country.”

A similar project was originally proposed by Unocal in the 1990s, but the company pulled out in 1998 after deciding the political situation in Afghanistan was too unstable.

The Turkmen President acknowledged that the project was complex but said that there was concrete evidence of the pipeline’s relevance and viability.

In April 2008, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India signed the framework agreement on construction of the TAPI gas pipeline.

The project received a new impetus to develop in May this year during the state visit of Mr Berdimuhamedov to India, where the Turkmen leader held successful talks with President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.