The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas line project the much delayed $10bn project has hit another obstacle.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) the principal financer for the project has paused all due diligence and processing activities until the Taliban regime is legitimised by the United Nations and big economies of the world which is unlikely to happen quickly given the current global situation.
A senior member of the Energy Ministry was quoted saying, “The major portion of the pipeline is to pass through Afghanistan. The ADB that was earlier acting as the facilitator and coordinator of the project has paused the project putting the fate of the gas line in the doldrums.”
The TAPI gas pipeline has a length of 1,680km with a design capacity of 3.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per annum (bcfd). It was to be laid down from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan up to the Pak-India border. The TAPI pipeline is proposed to be laid down from Herat-Kandahar-Chaman-Zhob-DG Khan-Multan and reach Fazilika a city at the Indian border. Under the trans-nations pipeline, Pakistan and India will be provided 1.325 bcfd (billion cubic feet per day) gas each and Afghanistan will get 0.5 bcfd gas share under this project.
