High ranking officials of Pakistan and Turkmenistan plan to meet next week in Islamabad to hold negotiations on the construction of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project, The Express Tribune of Pakistan reports.
“All impediments will be removed and timelines will be set to kick off work on the project in the wake of the visit of Turkmenistan officials,” said Inter State Gas Systems (ISGS) Managing Director Mobin Saulat.
The two countries have already signed terms of the Host Government Agreement (HGA) during the visit of the Turkmen delegation, headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to Pakistan on March 12 and now they will engage in discussions on the HGA next week.
HGA will authorize TAPI Pipeline Company Limited to implement and operate Pakistan’s segment of the pipeline project over the next 25 years, according to the newspaper. The government of Pakistan will give certain concessions and permission to TAPI Company including travel concessions covering visas and permits, opening a branch office in Pakistan, investment protection and facilitation.
The construction of the TAPI pipeline project was launched in Mary velayat of Turkmenistan in December 2015. Groundbreaking ceremony of Afghanistan-section of the gas pipeline was held in February 2018.
The 1840-kilometer TAPI gas pipeline will provide the opportunity to annually export 33 billion cubic meters of Turkmen natural gas to South Asian countries.
