Afghanistan’s western Herat province could begin receiving natural gas through the long-delayed TAPI pipeline within two months, Governor Noor Ahmad Islamjar said on Thursday. It would give local factories a new fuel source and move a decades-old regional energy plan forward.
The approximately 1,800-kilometre pipeline is a joint project designed to carry 33 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) says Afghanistan would receive 5 per cent of the gas, with Pakistan and India each receiving 47.5 per cent.
According to Islamjar, Turkmenistan is currently finishing work on the Herat section.
“Turkmen officials will complete the project work and then hand it over to Herat officials,” he said.
Islamjar urged factory owners and residents to prepare to use TAPI gas. Earlier in August, Afghan Gas and Türkmengaz signed an agreement under which gas prices, Afghanistan’s demand and the distribution process will be determined.
Afghan authorities have estimated the country could also earn about $400 million a year in transit fees once the wider project becomes operational.
Discussions on moving Turkmen gas through Afghanistan began in the 1990s. The project gained momentum with ADB support in 2003, while India joined in 2008.
The pipeline was conceptualised to connect gas-rich Turkmenistan with energy markets in South Asia. Afghanistan could gain gas, transit income and jobs. Turkmenistan would gain another export route, while Pakistan and India could receive an additional long-term gas supply.
In 2016, Sean O’Sullivan, then Director General of the Asian Development Bank’s Central and West Asia Department, said, “It will unlock economic opportunities, transform infrastructure, diversify the energy market for Turkmenistan, and enhance energy security for the region.”
The Herat statement did not give a timeline for completion of the full pipeline to Pakistan and India.
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