TAPI opens up new avenues, India warns of negative forces

Marking a new phase in regional integration, the TAPI gas pipeline has finally taken a big step forward, with the leaders and representatives of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India witnessing the ground-breaking ceremony of the path-breaking project that is set to transform the energy landscape of the region.

There was a sense of new beginning as India’s Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pushed a button which started the welding of pipes at Mary, the historic Silk Route town located 311 km from the Turkmen capital Ashgabat.

“Today, we were participants and witnesses of a historic event. Today marks the start of a project of great scale,” President Berdimuhamedow said on December 13. Hoping that the pipeline would become operational by 2019, he underlined that the “TAPI is designed to become a powerful driver of economic and social stability in the Asian region.”

Mr Ansari hailed the project as a landmark in regional integration. “The idea of an economically integrated South and Central Asia is an idea whose time has come,” said Mr Ansari, a scholar and a former ambassador of India. Underlining that TAPI is much more than a gas pipeline project for the four countries, Mr Ansari said that it was a reflection of the common desire of the four member countries to re-connect themselves. “We are seeking to reclaim our shared geography and revitalise an age-old legacy of our mutually enrichinginteractions. The launch of TAPI also marks the first step towards fulfilling the vision of an economically integrated region stretching from the Bay of Bengal to the Caspian Sea,” Mr Ansari said.

Alluding to the symbolic significance of the launch of the project at Mary, Mr Ansari said that it was appropriate given the town’s history. “It was here, centuries ago, that caravans carrying goods paused to refresh themselves and thereby bestow on generations to come a colourful tapestry of mutually beneficial exchanges. It was here that our ideas and imaginations, spirituality and song, art and architecture met and mingled, and a shared history was written.”

“In committing ourselves to a shared future and to a vision of common prosperity, we are moving beyond an alien script written in the ink of imperialism that has prevented us from realising the fullest potential of our people and the region so far. TAPI reflects our strong desire to put this chapter behind us and stride confidently into the future,” he added.

Mr Ansari thanked Mr Ghani and Mr Sharif for their active involvement in the project saying their strong support for TAPI reflects their interest in securing the economic future of the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan respectively. “Your personal commitment to the success of our common venture augurs well for the entire region and for the people of all our countries,” Mr Ansari said.

He also emphasised that India would take a constructive and cooperative approach towards addressing issues related to the TAPI project. “We are confident that all issues can be addressed through a spirit of mutual accommodation and sharing of costs and benefits,” Mr Ansari stated.

The $10 billion, 1800-km TAPI pipeline will have a capacity to carry 90 million standard cubic metres a day (mmscmd) gas for a 30-year period. India and Pakistan will get 38 mmscmd each, while the remaining 14 mmscmd will be supplied to Afghanistan.

Against the backdrop of security apprehensions, Mr Ansari exhorted all stakeholders had to work together to ensure that “negative forces inimical to the success of the project” were addressed in an appropriate manner. “In doing so, we must recognise that the forces of violence and disruption can no longer be allowed to threaten the quest for economic development and security of our people. I am confident that with the active engagement of all four governments, and the support of our international partners, we can overcome such challenges,” he added.

The pipeline project was conceived way back in the 1990s. Initially Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan signed a framework agreement to implement the ambitious project after a meeting in Islamabad in 2002 and the preliminary feasibility studies were done by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). India requested the ADB expressing intent to join the project as an official member in 2006 and became a permanent member during the 10th steering committee meeting in 2008.

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