Acting Mines Minister and Turkmen Ambassador visit TAPI pipeline site, stress accelerated progress

Afghanistan and Turkmenistan officials visited the TAPI pipeline site in Herat, reaffirming commitment to the key regional energy project. The pipeline will deliver Turkmen gas to India via Afghanistan and Pakistan, with efforts now focused on accelerating construction.

The Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Hedayatullah Badri and Turkmenistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Khawaja Uzdov, have visited the construction site of the TAPI gas pipeline in Herat. 

The visit comes as work continues on one of the region’s most ambitious energy projects—the TAPI pipeline, which aims to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India. The pipeline is expected to deliver 33 billion cubic meters of gas each year, spanning a total of 1,814 kilometers.

During the visit, both Afghan and Turkmen officials expressed satisfaction with the progress made so far and emphasized the need to accelerate construction.

The TAPI project officially began in December 2015 with a groundbreaking ceremony in Turkmenistan. The Afghan section was inaugurated in Herat in February 2018, but due to years of conflict and political instability, progress remained slow.

Following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, efforts to restart the project gained momentum, and construction in Afghanistan resumed in September 2023.

While there is still no official timeline for when Afghanistan will complete its segment of the pipeline, authorities say they are working to speed up progress by launching construction in multiple areas at once.

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