Islamabad: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today met Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the meeting of the steering committee set up for TAPI (Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan India) peipeline here.
India reiterated its commitment to source natural gas from Turkmenistan through the TAPI pipeline. Speaking at the meeting, Pradhan called for speedy appointment of a mutually acceptable consortium leader, crucial for the implementation of the project.
Pradhan said the pipeline project would be a win-win proposition for all participating companies.
All the four countries today agreed to give a final push to the stalled gas pipeline project in the region.
The agreement emerged during the high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif which was attended by the ministers from TAPI member countries.
Terming the project “very important for all countries of the region”, Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan was keen to expedite the deal. “Pakistan would be happy to play a positive role in this regard,” he added.
Sharif said, Pakistan was facing a shortage of gas, and this project would help the country in meeting the deficit.
“We all should take this opportunity seriously so that we can fulfil our obligation to our people”, the Pakistani PM said.
All four member countries wanted that the project be started soon as the cost was going to rise with the passage of time.
An inter-governmental agreement on the pipeline was signed by the heads of the member states in 2010.
The 1,680 km gas pipeline is designed with a capacity to supply 3.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per annum (Bcfd) from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. It will reach Fazilka in India via Multan (Pakistan) and andahar (Afghanistan).
Turkmenistan Director State Agency for Management and Use of Hydrocarbon Resource Yagshgeldi Kakayev, Afghanistan Minister of Mines and Petroleum Daoudshah Saba, and Director General Asian Development Bank Manila Klaus Gerhaeusser among others attended the meeting.
