ISLAMABAD, Jun 7 (APP): A delegation of Turkmenistan on Pakistan’s two-day visit on Wednesday discussed the implementation of the TAPI Gas Pipeline Project and the TAP Power Transmission Line Project with the Pakistani authorities.
The delegation, was headed by Mr Maksat Babayev, State Minister – Chairman of State Concern “Turkmengas”, and Mr Annageldi Saparov, Deputy Minister of Energy of Turkmenistan, held a meeting with Khurram Dastgir Khan, Federal Minister of Energy (Power Division) of Pakistan, and Dr Musadik Malik, State Minister of Energy (Petroleum Division), at Ministry of Energy, said a press release issued here.
During the meeting, they discussed a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, particularly the projects for the construction of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) transnational gas pipeline, and the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan power transmission and fiber-optic communication line (TAP). It was agreed that significant progress has been made in terms of the practical implementation of the TAPI Project. The construction of the 214-km long Turkmenistan section of the TAPI pipeline from the Galkynysh gas field in Turkmenistan to the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan border has been completed.
TAP power transmission line will run in parallel to the TAPI gas pipeline project which would not only provide the TAPI Gas Pipeline and its facilities with electric energy but would also play a significant role in satisfying Pakistan’s domestic and industrial demand for electricity and reducing electricity costs, it added.
The Pakistan side emphasized that the TAPI and TAP Projects had full support of the Government of Pakistan as they were crucial for the socio-economic prosperity of the region and for ensuring energy security and economic growth in Pakistan.
The parties agreed to maintain regular contact between the Technical Working Groups of Turkmenistan and Pakistan on the implementation of joint energy projects, it concluded.
