Groundbreaking ceremony of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline will take place on December 13, 2015, sources revealed on Tuesday.
Afghanistan’s Mohammad Ashraf Ghani was invited to participate in the ceremony by his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov during a phone conversation.
The Afghan president expressed confidence that the implementation of this large-scale, Turkmenistan-initiated project would be of crucial importance for the whole region, Turkmenistan-4 TV channel reported.
The implementation of TAPI project was a key subject of discussions during the meeting of the Turkmen-Afghan intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation which took place in Ashgabat.
Participants of the meeting noted that the implementation of TAPI project would be additional stimulus for the expanding of bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan both in energy as well as transport and communications spheres.
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov signed an order on November 7 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 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 realisation of the project.
Under the project, the pipeline will be 1,735 kilometers long.
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 $10 billion.
