TAPI Ground-breaking Ceremony Next Month

Ground-breaking ceremony of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline will take place next month, Pakistan’s petroleum minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Wednesday.

Speaking at an event in Islamabad, he said that the pipeline would be laid in four years, reported Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).

He said Pakistan had natural gas shortage of over 2 bcf per day and, in addition to the TAPI gas pipeline, the ministry was working on a multi-pronged strategy to overcome this shortfall.

Earlier this year, TurkmenGaz was selected as the TAPI pipeline consortium leader. Last year, gas companies of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India established a company that will build, own and operate the planned 1,800-kilometer TAPI natural gas pipeline. The pipeline will export up to 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India over 30 years.