$10 billion TAPI pipeline work gets under way

Vice-president Hamid Ansari, Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Malikgulyyevich Berdimuhamedov, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif join hands during the signing of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project at Mary, Turkmenistan, on Sunday. — PTI

Leaders of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India broke ground Sunday on a $10-billion gas pipeline expected to help ease energy deficits in South Asia and stem tensions in the divided region.

Presidents Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan and Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan attended the ceremony in the Karakum desert in Mary, marking the beginning of work on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) link.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian vice-president Mohammad Hamid Ansari were also present. “Today we were participants and witnesses of a historic event. Today marks the start of a project of great scale — the TAPI pipeline,” said Mr Berdymukhamedov during the ceremony, which took place in a pavilion imitating a Turkmen nomadic dwelling.

Turkmenistan has said it expects the gas link with an annual capacity of 33 billion cubic metres to be completed by 2018.

Afghanistan, India and Pakistan have all repeatedly stated their commitment to the natural gas project despite the bilateral tensions Delhi and Kabul have with Islamabad.