Today, September 11, the construction of the Turkmen-Afghan section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline officially began in Serhetabat (formerly Kushka). Afghan media are reporting on it with joy.
At the same time, construction of other major projects in Afghanistan began, including the construction of a railway line from Herat to Sanubar, as well as the construction of warehouses, facilities and the Noor-ul-Jihad substation.
Afghan Prime Minister attends ceremony in Serkhetbar Mohammad Hassan Akhund and Chairman of the People’s Council of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov also participated – via video link.
The construction of this section of the pipeline was an important step in the implementation of a large-scale gas supply project with an annual supply capacity of 33 billion cubic meters, which began in Turkmenistan on December 13, 2015. However, the start of construction of the Afghan section was constantly postponed.
Addressing the crowd at the launch ceremony, Akhund said:
“Today is the day we have been waiting for for years and, after overcoming difficulties and hardships, these great projects have been launched.”
Serdar Berdimuhamedov also addressed the audience via video link:
“Friendly, fraternal and good-neighbourly relations are developing between the two countries, and the implementation of these important projects is very important not only for the interests of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, but also for the benefit of the region.”
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that today is a historic day for both countries and that “a new page” will be opened in the relations between the two countries.
“An important part of our policy is to continue cooperation with the people of Afghanistan in the economic, political and diplomatic spheres.” – said Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
According to him, the projects launched today will create jobs for around 12,000 Afghans and will eventually bring in a total of around one billion dollars in benefits to Afghanistan annually.
The TAPI pipeline will be 1,821 kilometres long and will provide Afghanistan with $400 million in revenue annually.
