TAPI gas pipeline project: Pakistan to sign transportation transit fee agreements next fiscal year

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is scheduled to sign gas transportation and transit fee agreements, pipeline service rules and complete Front End Engineering Design (FEED) activities, under Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) project, during the next fiscal year, sources said on Thursday.

The TAPI project activities will be implemented during 2018/19, the sources told APP.

In February this year, TAPI project had entered Afghanistan from Turkmenistan after the latter completed construction of gas pipeline in its section.

The sources said Inter State Gas Systems (Pvt) Limited (ISGSL), which is the project execution company in Pakistan, had initiated the FEED activities of the TAPI gas pipeline project’s Pakistan section in March 2017. Since then, the company has moved diligently towards TAPI gas pipeline’s practical implementation, they added.

The TAPI gas pipeline, first envisaged in the 90’s had been lying in the backburner for many years, but saw revitalisation in the present government’s tenure, which made it a key component of the government’s national energy policy to import gas.

The sources expressed confidence the pipeline would substantially add inexpensive, reliable and environment-friendly energy in Pakistan’s national pool and help achieve socioeconomic progress in the region.

Highlighting the importance of the project, the sources said, the pipeline would help increase the power generation capacity to meet the country’s future energy needs, create more job opportunities in backward areas along the pipeline route and further strengthen the national economy.

Under the project, a 56-inch diameter 1,680km pipeline, having capacity to flow 3.2 billion cubic feet/day (bcfd) gas, would be laid from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan up to Pakistan-India border, which is scheduled to complete in 2020.

Through the pipeline, funded by the Asian Development Bank, Pakistan and India would be provided 1.325bcfd gas each and Afghanistan would get the share of 0.5bcfd gas.

Meanwhile, the sources said in Pakistan, financial close of the TAPI gas pipeline is expected to be achieved this year; following which construction work would start on this multibillion dollars project.

The construction work on the project will start after the completion of technical studies and achieving the financial close, which is expected to be completed during the current year, they added.

TAPI Pipeline Company Limited (TPCL), the project executing company, had been jointly formed by the four parties, which appointed the consultant to undertake the Pre-FID activities, including the detailed survey of the entire route, environment impact assessment studies and FEED, the sources said.

The procurement process for lines pipe, long lead items and appointment of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor had been started.

The company has appointed a legal counsel for rendering legal services on the agreements to be executed by the company, the sources added.