The delegation of Afghanistan on a visit to Turkmenistan last week reached agreements on important issues related to the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project, the TOLOnews television network reported on Sunday, with reference to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan (MoFA).
According to a senior official of MoFA Shafay Azam, the two sides reached an agreement on action plans for pipeline construction, the distribution of gas to industrial parks and residents of Herat, as well as the conversion of natural gas to liquefied gas.
“First, the two sides agreed to form a schedule for the acquisition of land and the pipeline construction. Second, the two sides agreed to establish a network to distribute gas to the residents of Herat and industrial parks,” said Shafay Azam said.
Abdul Rahman Habib, a spokesman for the Ministry of Economy of Afghanistan said, “The TAPI project is one of the important and fundamental projects that can facilitate political engagement, regional cooperation and regional development.”
The TAPI pipeline is expected to carry 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas each year along a route stretching 1,800 km from Galkynysh, the world's second-biggest gas field in Turkmenistan, to the Indian city of Fazilka near the Pakistan border.