Turkmenistan to start Afghan TAPI construction in 2021

In 2021 Turkmenistan will begin construction of the 1,125-mile, 33-billion cu m/year Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline in Afghanistan.

Turkmenistan plans to complete TAPI’s construction inside its territory this year and then begin work on the line’s Afghanistan segment, according to Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov.

Construction of power transmission and fibre-optic communication lines along TAPI’s route is also nearing completion, according to Turkmenistan’s foreign ministry.

TAPI is laying 56-inch OD pipe from Galkynysh field in Turkmenistan to Fazilka, India, with completion expected in late 2022.

This schedule, however, is contingent on the timely completion of work in Afghanistan and the start of construction during 2021 in Pakistan.

The pipeline would run 133 miles in Turkmenistan, 480 miles through Afghanistan (including the cities of Herat and Kandahar), and 512 miles across Pakistan (including Quetta and Multan) before reaching Fazilka at the Indian border.

Source: Oil & Gas Journal