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TAPI pipeline to help address energy shortages in Pakistan: ADB

Xinhua, April 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

The shareholders of the TAPI Pipeline Company Limited (TPCL) signed an Investment Agreement on Friday to pave the way for the delivery of long-term natural gas supplies to Pakistan.

The agreement will help Pakistan address energy shortages, a statement from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in Islamabad.

The Investment Agreement, signed in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, provides an initial budget of over 200 million U.S. dollars to fund the next phase of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline.

This includes funding detailed engineering and route surveys, environmental and social safeguard studies, and procurement and financing activities, to enable a final investment decision, after which construction can begin. Construction is estimated to take up to 3 years.

"TAPI will help bring in 13.8 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan to meet Pakistan's growing energy demand," said Jam Kamal Khan, Minister of State in Pakistan's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources.

"It will boost the country's energy security, bring economic benefits to our people through job opportunities, and provide and upgrade associated infrastructure."

TPCL will build, own, and operate the TAPI pipeline, which once completed, will transport up to 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Turkmenistan to the three other countries for the next 30 years.

The pipeline stretches about 1,600 kilometers from the Afghan/Turkmen border to the Pakistan/Indian border.

"TAPI exemplifies ADB's key role in promoting regional cooperation and integration over the past 20 years. It will unlock economic opportunities, transform infrastructure, and diversify the energy market for Turkmenistan, and enhance energy security for the region," said Sean O'Sullivan, Director General of ADB's Central and West Asia Department.

Acting as TAPI secretariat since 2003 and as transaction advisor since 2013, ADB has been instrumental in the progress of the TAPI pipeline to date. In the latter role, ADB helped establish TPCL, select Turkmengaz as consortium leader, and finalize the Shareholders and Investment Agreements. Enditem