TAPI construction to start in Herat next year

Minister of Mines and Petroleum Mohammad Haroon Chakhansuri on Thursday said that construction work on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Pipeline Project will kick off next year.

Speaking at a press conference Chakhansuri said the ministry has established an effective coordination mechanism between government institutions involved in the TAPI project and also with international institutions and TAPI partners.

“Fortunately, all the administrative, technical and legal problems of the TAPI project have been resolved and the practical work of this project will start next year in Herat province,” said Chakhansuri.

The minister also said that another project the ministry is working on is the construction of a 94.5 km-long gas pipeline from Sheberghan, capital city of Jawzjan province, to Mazar-e-Sharif and construction work will start in the next three months.

“The gas that will be transferred from Sheberghan to Mazar-e-Sharif through this pipeline will be used to generate 50 megawatts of electricity,” said Chakhansuri.

The minister said that soon 67 projects that have been approved by the High Economic Council will be put out to tender in accordance with Afghanistan’s mining laws and after the completion of the process companies that meet the standards will be awarded the contracts.

“These 67 projects will add 150 to 170 million Afghanis to Afghanistan’s national income, in addition to which 5 million Afghanis will be invested in these projects for five years and will directly provide employment to 3,000 people,” Chakhansuri said.