ISLAMABAD: Four state-owned gas organisations of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (Tapi) have established a company that will build, own and operate the planned 1,800km Tapi gas pipeline.

The pipeline will export up to 33 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India over the next 30 years.

Turkmenistan has the world’s fourth-largest proven gas reserves, and the pipeline will allow the landlocked country to diversify its gas export markets to the southeast.

Turkmen gas will provide a key new source of fuel for southern Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India.

“Establishment of the Tapi pipeline company is a key milestone in the development of the pipeline. It is a tangible sign of transformational cooperation among the parties that presages the enhanced energy security, business prospects, and overall peace and stability in the region promised by the pipeline,” said Klaus Gerhaeusser, ADB Director General of Central and West Asia Department.

The ADB was appointed the transaction adviser for the pipeline project in November last year. In that role, the bank advised on the establishment of the Tapi pipeline company as an integral part of the larger goal of identifying and selecting a commercial consortium leader to spearhead the construction and operation of the pipeline.

Published in Dawn, November 16th , 2014