Turkmenistan is committed to promoting the socio-economic development of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of reports.
Turkmenistan’s commitment is shown in infrastructure projects initiated by Turkmenistan, including the construction of social facilities on the territory of Afghanistan on a gratuitous basis.
The construction of the TAPI gas pipeline, electric power and communication lines along the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan route, as well as railway lines connecting Turkmenistan with Afghanistan and other countries in the region is important for the Afghan economy.
The representatives of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning Land Acquisition for the Afghan portion of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project.
The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline (TAPI), also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Galkynysh – TAPI Pipeline Company Limited with the participation of the Asian Development Bank.
The pipeline will transport natural gas from the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. Construction on the project started in Turkmenistan on December 13, 2015.
The length of the Turkmen section of the TAPI pipeline, the construction of which was launched in December 2015, will be 205 kilometers (the main operations are being carried out on the 120th kilometer). The pipeline will pass through the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandahar (816 kilometers), through the cities of Quetta and Multan across Pakistani territory (819 kilometers) and reach the city of Fazilka in India.
The pipeline’s design capacity is planned to be 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year, and the project’s cost – about $8 billion. (Trend/Business World Magazine)