Next year Turkmenistan will begin construction of the TAPI gas pipeline in Afghanistan

Ashgabat, November 30 - Neftegaz.RU. In 2021, Turkmenistan will begin construction of the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) gas pipeline in Afghanistan. Vice-Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov said this during a plenary meeting of the High-level Conference on Afghanistan in Geneva, at which issues of economic cooperation with Afghanistan were discussed online.

- Turkmen side plans to complete the construction of TAPI on its territory this year, and next year begin construction on the territory of Afghanistan, - Vice-Chairman said.

Also, the construction of power transmission lines and fiber-optic communications along the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan route is at the final stage.

Meredov stressed that the leadership of Turkmenistan considers the regional economic integration of Afghanistan through the implementation of large-scale infrastructure projects as one of the main aspects of restoring peace in this country.

In this regard, the Vice-Chairman noted that Turkmenistan has initiated a number of important economic projects with the participation of Afghanistan. Thus, the construction of the TAPI gas pipeline, electric power and communication lines along the TAP route, as well as railways connecting Turkmenistan with Afghanistan and other countries of the region continues.

- The construction by the Turkmen side of a 35-km section of the Akina-Andkhoy railway should be completed in the coming days, - Meredov said. - In 2021, it is planned to continue the construction of the railway in the Turgundi-Herat direction.

The head of the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan informed the meeting participants about the financial component of these projects. In particular, it was noted that Turkmenistan allocated $ 1 billion 250 million for the implementation of projects with the participation of Afghanistan.

The President of Afghanistan Mohammad Ghani, speaking at the conference, expressed gratitude for the aspiration of the world community to facilitate the involvement of Afghanistan in the world economy, especially noting the important contribution of Turkmenistan.