Wednesday November 25, 2015
Kabul (BNA) Releasing a statement, the presidential office has announced that practical work of TAPI project will be started in one month according to agreement of Afghan president with authorities of member countries of TAPI project in a meeting.
TAPI is one of the biggest economic projects in the region. At the same time the authorities of Turkmenistan said that they have signed document on implementation of TAPI project. In his recent utterances on TAPI, Turkmenistan president Qurban Ali Berdi Mohammadov has ordered government companies to start this project. President Mohammadov has told the media that it was a historical document and implementation of this project would settle regional socio-humanitarian and economic problems. Based on the order of Turkmen leader, Turkmen Gas and Turkmen Oil Gas companies should start the TAPI project that transits gas from Turkmenistan territory in December 2015.
The 1800km long TAPI project will be constructed with an expenditure of over US 10 billion with a capacity of 33billion cubic square gas per year until the end of 2018 and would start activity. According to relevant authorities of Afghan ministry of mines and petroleum, the TAPI project would create jobs for 5000 people in Afghanistan and income of over US300 million per year. Afghanistan shares 25pc in this great project. A number of experts and citizens emphasizing on the importance of TAPI project said TAPI is one of the biggest regional economic projects for Afghanistan and other countries and can create many facilities to local Afghans. Mohammad Iqbal an economic, political analyst believes, with the implementation of TAPI project, economic-political relations of the involved countries will be improved and better socio-economic development grounds will be available.
Especially implementation of TAPI will be useful for improvement of Afghanistan relations with TAPI members. The Afghan government should adopt certain measures in security of TAPI pipeline inside its territory because security is an essential element in implementation of economic projects. Akhtar Mohammad a local Afghan, who is unemployed, said the Afghan people have sustained many hardships. TAPI project can bring positive changes in rural people living conditions. The TAPI agreement was signed in 2010 in Ashgabat the capital of Turkmenistan among leaders of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India and TAPI pipeline would pass through Turkmenistan to Torghondi in Herat, Farah, Nimroz, Helmand and Spinboldak to Pakistan.
