ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Turkmenistan have agreed to accelerate the progress of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) gas pipeline project. Pakistan’s Caretaker Minister for Energy, Muhammad Ali, and the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Pakistan, Atadjan Movlamov, reached this consensus during a meeting held in Islamabad.
Both sides have agreed to conduct regular meetings of a working group to monitor the advancements made in the TAPI gas pipeline project.
The Caretaker Minister highlighted the significance of the TAPI gas pipeline project in meeting Pakistan’s growing energy demands. He emphasized that the timely completion of the project would also contribute to regional cooperation.
The TAPI project involves the laying of a 56-inch diameter, 1,680-kilometer pipeline capable of transporting 3.2 billion cubic feet per day (bfcd) of gas. The pipeline will stretch from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Pakistan-India border.
As specified in the TAPI agreement, both Pakistan and India will be provided with a gas supply of 1.325 bcfd each, while Afghanistan will receive an allocation of 0.5 bcfd.
In June, Pakistan and Turkmenistan signed a joint implementation plan in Islamabad to execute the TAPI gas pipeline project. The signing ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a Turkmenistan delegation led by Minister of Energy and Water Resources, Daler Juma’a.
