Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline is at the stage of practical implementation and the project is a game-changer for the economic prosperity of Pakistan, announced Turkmenistan Ambassador to Pakistan Atadjan Movlamov.
On Sunday, while meeting with representatives of the (EJAF) Economic Journalist Association Forum in Islamabad, Turkmenistan Ambassador to Pakistan called the TAPI pipeline the way to prosperity for Pakistan.
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Movlamov said that a 1,840 km long pipeline transporting natural gas from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India would be constructed by the state-owned gas companies under the TAPI gas pipeline project.
“We have been finalizing agreements with the Pakistani government and are considering to start construction soon after that”, he added that the construction of the pipeline will be completed within 2020 by the government.
The ambassador further said that the TAPI project has the capability to change the fortune of Pakistan as natural gas power generation is considerably cheaper than diesel and fuel oil. Also, natural gas will stimulate industrialization and investment.
Moreover, Pakistan and Afghanistan will benefit from billions of dollars of transit fees and this project shall also bring a know how for the region in terms of modern hi-tech equipment, technologies, and so forth.
He also said that natural gas is a cleaner and safer alternative to coal and diesel-fired power generation gives the project social and environmental importance. Presently, India and Pakistan are among the world’s largest contributors of CO2 emissions; 7.5 percent of global emissions.
Movlamov said that along with the TAPI gas pipeline project, a 1635 km fiber-optic line will be laid from the border of Turkmenistan across Afghanistan and Pakistan. “The fibre-optic facility will monitor gas pipelines and provide the data of Europe, Asia and South-East Asia at a speed of 100GBs per second with the ability to increase up to 6TBs per second.”
He said Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Power Transmission Project and the new TAP electric line will allow export of up to 3000-megawatt energy via Afghanistan to Pakistan, as well as, it will provide the TAPI gas pipeline and its facilities with electric energy.
