The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said negotiations over technical issues of the TAPI pipeline project have been held and the project will resume in the spring.
“We hope to immediately reach an exact date on the restart of the TAPI pipeline project in the spring. We hope the work on other projects including TAPI will be resumed soon too,” said Shafi Azam, a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The economists suggested that the TAPI pipeline project would also provide job opportunities for the Afghan citizens.
“I consider the resumption of this project at such a critical time a positive step because when this project is resumed, the people will be provided with both gas and job opportunities,” said Ahmad Muneeb Rasa, an economist.
However, many reports were published about the resumption of TAPI projects in Afghanistan, but the project has yet to begin.
“The accomplishment of the major economic projects in the country is in the hands of the regional countries such as India and Pakistan. As long as the interests of the two countries are not ensured, the implementation of this project will be just a possibility,” said Shakir Yaqob, an economist.
The TAPI pipeline project–which would start in Turkmenistan and run through Afghanistan, Pakistan and end in India– began nearly three decades ago.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate said it would soon resume the TAPI pipeline project, saying that the suspension of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) activities will not halt the project.
Earlier, a Pakistan news agency quoted a top Pakistani official of the Energy Ministry saying that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has paused all due diligence and processing activities of TAPI pending the official recognition of the Islamic Emirate by the United Nations and major global economies.
The Ministry of Finance denied the report, saying that the ADB was active in a consultative capacity, and that the project is mainly being supported by Turkmenistan.
“The project is mainly owned by Turkmenistan and the ADB was (or is still?) playing a role as a financial advisor,” said Ahmad Wali Haqmal, a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance.
