DUSHANBE, October 25, 2013 Asia-Plus — The Government of Tajikistan has begun the process of consideration of an intergovernmental agreement on construction of a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Tajik territory to China, according to the Ministry of Energy and Industry (MoEI).
An official source at a MoEI says the agreement on this subject was signed by Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in September this year.
“This pipeline will carry natural gas from Turkmenistan’s southern the Galkynysh gas field through Afghanistan and Tajikistan into China’s northeast Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region,” the source said.
According to him, the sides have worked on this project since 2006 and China will finance implementation of the project.
“Tajikistan will ratify this agreement before the end of this year,” the source said, noting that the gas pipeline is expected to be finished in 2016.
“Implementation of this project will allow attracting more than 3 billion USD of direct investments from China for development of Tajikistan’s economy,” said the source. “Besides, a joint venture will be launched for construction of this gas pipeline and further maintenance of it.”
Specialists note that this gas pipeline may become one of branches of the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (also known as Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline, or TAPI).
Expected to be completed in 2017, TAPI will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road. Estimated cost of the pipeline project is reported at $7.6 billion.
We will recall that Tajikistan had received natural gas from Uzbekistan until 2013. Uzbekistan suspended gas deliveries via pipeline to Tajikistan on December 31, 2012 after both sides failed to agree on gas prices following the expiration of their contract. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan”s only supplier of gas, routinely suspends gas deliveries to its neighbor amid complaints of nonpayment.
