In order to transport natural gas to energy starved countries like India, shareholders of the Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Pipeline Company Limited inked an accord to invest $200 million in studies and engineering for the $10 billion project.
- It will help Pakistan’s energy security, bring economic benefits to the general population through job opportunities and upgrade the associated infrastructure.
The agreement was signed in the presence of petroleum ministers and senior government officials of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Asian Development Bank officials in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
Background:
In Decemeber 2015, Turkmenistan started work on its 1,814 Km natural gas pipeline in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) project funded by Asian Development Bank. It is designed to reduce its dependence on gas sales to Russia and China.
- Coverage of Project – It starts from the Galkynysh gas field in Afghanistan and will travel 827 km in Pakistan. The final destination of the pipeline will be the Fazilka (India) near the border between Pakistan and India.
- Capacity – The capacity will be 33 billion cubic metres (1.2 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas per year.
Keys Turkmenistan
Capital – Ashgabat
Currency – Turkmenistan manat
President – Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov