SERHATABAD, Turkmenistan: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Friday said the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project would bring mutual prosperity in the region.
“The project will have only the winners,” the prime minister said while addressing a ceremony to lay foundation stone of link-up ceremonies of TAPI gas pipeline and associated projects at the Turkmen border City of Serhetabat.
The prime minister said the TAPI gas pipeline project would unite people, boost socio-economic development and bring in peace dividends to the entire region.
“It is a historical moment to restore the ancient contacts of the region,” he said.
Khaqan Abbasi said he was grateful to Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow for turning into reality and particularly for recreating the historical linkages of this region. He said the Turkmen president owing to his vision had converted the TAPI project into an energy and communications corridor that would have IT connectivity besides road and rail links.
The prime minister said the project would help meet 10 percent of Pakistan’s energy needs, 20 percent of its natural gas requirements and would be equivalent to its nine million tonnes of imports. He said TAPI would provide Pakistan, the much needed gas security.
The prime minister said he didn’t see just one gas line but several gas pipelines to overcome energy shortages.
Moreover, he said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was the most efficient connectivity link for the Central Asian States and its linkage with the One Belt One Road would open a new world of opportunities.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said Pakistan had already added 10,000 megawatts of electricity in the past four years, and said by end of 2019 would offer over 2500 kilometers of six-lane Motorways for concomitant the region.
Abbasi said Pakistan provided rich incentives and lucrative returns for foreign investors, and the government had addressed the challenges to provide the requisite peace, security and stability.
The prime minister also congratulated the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for its role in making the project a reality. He assured the leaders of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and India, Pakistan’s full cooperation in making TAPI a success.
Besides Khaqan Abbasi and the Turkmen president, the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs M.J Akbar also attended the ground-breaking ceremonies.
