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PM stresses expediting TAPI gas pipeline project
APP
ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday termed the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project “very important for all regional countries” and expressed Pakistan’s keen desire to expedite it. Chairing a meeting at the PM House here, the prime minister said that Pakistan would be happy to play a positive role in execution of this project. The prime minister said that Pakistan was facing shortage of gas, and the TAPI project would prove immensely helpful in meeting the deficit. He said, “We all should take this opportunity seriously so that we can fulfill our obligation to our peoples.” He emphasised that concerned states should take all steps necessary to start the project as soon as possible keeping in view the increase in cost with time. He said that there were lots of hopes with this project and its early completion. The visiting ministers of the member countries shared their views on TAPI project and called this a win-win project for all the countries. The meeting agreed that a consortium leader would soon be finalised. The prime minister was informed that an intergovernmental agreement was signed by the heads of states of all the members of TAPI in 2010. Yagshgeldi Kakayev, Director, State Agency for Management and use of Hydrocarbon Resources, Turkmenistan; Daoudshah Saba, Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Afghanistan; Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, India; Klaus Gerhaeusser, DG Asian Development Bank Manila, Philippines and other senior officer attended the meeting. The project is a 1,680 KM pipeline with design capacity to supply 3.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per annum (Bcfd) from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk