It has ben reported that the world’s ever biggest $10 billion proposed 1420 km long natural gas pipeline, a fast-track project, to be started by the end of 2015, named as TAPI — Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India — in the offing and expected to be competed within 5 years or before. It will carry 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year from Galkynysh.
The gas pipe line is to be laid down from the starting point Turkmenistan (which has the world’s 4th largest gas reserves, a repressive isolated country and a closed business state) and will pass through the routes via Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
The latter the 3 nations are facing shortage of natural gas to some extent and in need of its supplement. The PMs of India and Pakistan who had visited the Turkmenistan, separately, have endorsed the project. The project has many hurdles to overcome, in that the source of providing finance to this project is yet to be decided.
Furthermore the pipelines will have to pass through the routes of land of conflicting countries, Pakistan & India and Afghanistan, the latter who is facing Taliban and lack of security measures due to withdrawal of NATO forces.
All in all, it is felt that though the project is troublesome, it is highly progressive to boost economy. Let us optimistically hope that in spite of all the hurdles to be surmounted and passed through, the dream pipeline TAPI will also get through the conflicting war zones, crossing many political barriers and will not remain simply a pipe dream.
