Four months after construction began on the Selkhetabat-Herat section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, a Taliban Mines and Petroleum Ministry spokesperson said: TOLO News A 2.9-kilometre pipeline has been built and a further 3.4-kilometre route is being prepared.
The $10 billion, 1,814-kilometre pipeline is envisioned to eventually transport around 33 bcm of gas per year from Turkmenistan to South Asia.
The 214km section in Turkmenistan was completed in 2018, and a ceremony was reportedly held to mark the country’s entry into Afghanistan, Bruce Pannier reports. after that (others recently) pointed out that it is not entirely clear whether this completion was in any way symbolic. In 2019, Turkmen state media reported that pipeline construction was underway.
In September 2024, Turkmenistan held another ceremony to commemorate the entry of the TAPI pipeline into Afghanistan. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, former President of Turkmenistan and current Chairman of the People’s Council, along with his son President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Hassan Akhund, tow the 150-kilometer road between Serkhetabat and Herat on the Afghanistan-Turkmenistan border. Commemorating the start of construction. Pipeline section.
as soon as possible decemberTaliban officials reported that “real work” had begun.
TAPI’s biggest hurdle has always been Afghanistan. The 774km pipeline will cross the country and is a major undertaking for the de facto authorities in Kabul. Completing a distance of less than 3 km means Statement to the media It shows how low the bar to progress is.
Taliban outlined 4 stage construction: The first stage is the section from Selkhetabat to Herat, which runs from the Turkmen border to the city of Herat. The second phase will be carried out from Herat to Helmand province. Phase 3 runs from Helmand to Kandahar. The final step will be to connect Kandahar with the Pakistan border.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told the media. december Phase 1 work is expected to be completed within two years.
Muhammetmilat Amanov, CEO of the TAPI Pipeline Company Limited consortium, said at the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan Forum in March 2024 that the first section will be approximately 150 km.
Turkmen Gas, Turkmenistan’s national gas company, is the largest shareholder with 85% of the shares in TAPI Pipeline Company Limited, the project operator. Afghanistan Gas Corporation, Pakistan’s Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Limited and India’s GAIL each hold a 5% stake in the consortium.
The price of the pipeline is estimated to reach $10 billion.
