The process of initiating front-end engineering and design (Feed), route survey and the process to finalise the right of way in Pakistan for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gasline will formally kick off March 3, 2017, according to Pakistani newspaper The News International.
The Tapi pipeline is projected to export up to 33 bln m³/yr from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India over 30 years.
Turkmengaz is the leader of the consortium and has 85% equity.
Indian Gail, ISGS of Pakistan and Afghan Gas Enterprise (AGE) share the remaining 15% equally.
According to a senior government official the exercise to complete Feed, route of survey and right of way will take up to 6 months before starting to lay the 800 km of pipeline in Pakistan.
Project management contract has been awarded to German firm ILF.
A similar Feed, right of way and route survey exercise started upstream in Afghanistan last month and will take about 6 months to complete.
Many experts doubt the project will ever be built, despite high-level support from the Asian Development Bank, owing to the great security risks.
The route traverses war-torn Afghanistan.