Turkmenistan commenced liquefied petroleum gas export to Pakistan through Afghanistan, TOLOnews television network reported on Sunday, citing the Afghan Finance Ministry’s post on Twitter.
According to the report, the gas will be shipped from Herat's Torghundi port to Afghanistan and then onward to Pakistan via Spin Boldak in Kandahar. The task of transporting gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan is carried out by a private company that pays Afghanistan for transit.
In the first stage, 50 gas tankers were transported from Turkmenistan to Pakistan via Afghanistan.
Atiqullah Saidal, head of a gas transportation company, stated that the transit of gas is beneficial to Afghanistan as it provides jobs. Afghan Commerce and Investment Chamber's acting Head, Mohammad Younus, further added that the government should help traders with the transit of goods, as Afghanistan plays an important role in connecting Central Asia to South Asia.
Kandahar customs authorities guarantee that the Spin Boldak border will soon be open 24 hours a day for commercial goods transit after Turkmen gas is transferred to Pakistan via Kandahar Spin Boldak.
On April 2, Deputy Minister of Mines and Petroleum of Afghanistan Zia Rahman Aryoubi announced that technical study of the TAPI Pipeline Project has been completed and there is no obstacle ahead of its implementation.
