Islamabad: Pakistan and Turkmenistan will discuss the security of the TAPI gas pipeline through war-torn Afghanistan besides reviewing the progress made on the USD 10 billion project that will also provide gas to India.
The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) project will be discussed during the upcoming visit of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Malikgulyyewic Berdimuhamedov. He will embark on a two-day visit to Pakistan starting tomorrow.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will hold talks with Berdimuhamedov on bilateral relations and cooperation in diverse fields besides regional and international matters of mutual interests.
The two sides will review progress on multi-billion dollar TAPI gas pipeline project. They will also discuss security of TAPI gas pipeline through Afghanistan, media report said.
The ground breaking for the 1,814 kilometre-long TAPI pipeline, a project aimed at easing the energy deficit in South Asia, was performed in December last year in Turkmenistan.
The TAPI pipeline will have a capacity to carry 90 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) gas for 30 years and is planned to become operational in 2018. India and Pakistan were originally to get 38 mmscmd each while the remaining 14 mmscmd was to be supplied to Afghanistan.
TAPI will carry gas from Turkmenistan's Galkynysh field, better known by its previous name South Yolotan Osman, that holds gas reserves of 16 trillion cubic feet.
On December 13, Turkmenistan began work on the 214 km section of the pipeline in its territory. The pipeline will travel 773 km in Afghanistan and 827 km in Pakistan before ending at Fazilka (Punjab) in India.
The agreement to operate the gas pipeline was signed last month in the Turkish capital Istanbul by representatives of the four nations.
It was reported that already a company was registered in November 2014 in which Afghanistan, Pakistan and India have 5 per cent shareholding each and the remaining 85 per cent stake are held by Turkmenistan.
