ASHGABAT: Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov signed a decree Nov 7 ordering to design and construct the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline’s section that is to run through Turkmenistan.
These works were entrusted to two state concerns – Turkmengaz and Turkmennebitgazgurlushyk.
The pipeline’s capacity will be 33 billion cubic meters a year, according to the decree.
The decree was signed for implementation of the “Program of Development of Oil and Gas Industry of Turkmenistan until 2030,” as well as for kicking-off TAPI’s construction and performing it at high quality in connection with election of Turkmengaz as the head of the TAPI Pipeline Company Limited.
The document also stipulates to start TAPI’s construction in December 2015 and hand over facilities fully ready for commissioning in December 2018.
The main document for the TAPI – the Ashgabat Interstate Agreement – was signed in 2010 by the party states to start the realization of the project. The length of the pipe can reach 1,735 kilometers.
The pipeline is to run from Galkynysh – the largest gas field in Turkmenistan through the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandahar, and finally reach the Fazilka township located near the India-Pakistan border. The project’s estimated cost is up to $10 billion.
