Turkmengaz to act as TAPI's main investor

/By AzerNews/

By Aynur Karimova

Turkmengaz State Concern of Turkmenistan will act as the main investor in the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, the Turkmen government reported.

The topic was discussed at the last meeting of the Turkmen government, where Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Baimurad Khojamuhammedov informed the participants about the outcome of the 23rd meeting of the steering committee on the TAPI project.

He said that the draft of the shareholder agreement was fully negotiated and initialed by the members of the TAPI Ltd consortium at the 23rd meeting of the steering committee.

The 23rd meeting of the steering committee, which was held on October 26 in the Turkmen capital of Ashgabat, was followed by the signing of shareholder and investment agreements.

The TAPI project, with a proposed capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, is currently at a crucial stage.

This project will extend from Galkynysh field in Turkmenistan through the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandahar to its final point at a settlement along the Pakistani-Indian border.

The ADB was appointed as the transaction advisor for the TAPI gas pipeline project in November 2013.

It is scheduled to begin construction of TAPI, one of the largest pipelines in the continent, in December.

Experts believe that TAPI is not only a regional project envisaging the transportation of Turkmen gas, but also a global one.

The implementation of the project will strengthen Turkmenistan's independence, and as a result, its gas supplies to world markets will increase significantly.

TAPI is an opportunity to pave the way for stability in Afghanistan and it could contribute to the rehabilitation process in the war-torn country.

It will also create more job opportunities and provide Afghanistan with a guaranteed income from the transit.