ASHGABAT BY, Turkmenistan – Afghanistan and were the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the capital of gas-rich Turkmenistan Saturday bring on ambitions to build a gas pipeline of their countries.
Pipeline, which would culminate in India, would involve large amounts of gas for underdeveloped regions and could serve impoverished Afghanistan hundreds of millions of dollars in transit fees. But it goes across both the Taliban-intensive stretches of Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan's unruly tribal areas.
Leaders, together with the President of Turkmenistan and India's oil Minister, is expected to sign a document expressing support for the project. The next step would be to search for proposals and bids from energy companies.
Efforts to gain the pipeline – called TAPI after countries – are ongoing have intensified in recent months Afghanistan seeks ways to kick-start the economy, while the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and India to consider ways to slake its thirst.
The project has also won vocal support from the United States, which is strongly opposed to India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan drawing supplies from Iran through another proposed gas pipeline.
Turkmenistan, which are believed to keep the world's fourth largest gas reserves, is keen to find new markets for their potentially enormous energy exports between flag interest from Russia, its traditional client.
Plans to build a pipeline transport of former Soviet nation gas to Western Europe so far unclear ambitions.
Visit of Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai and Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari, after months of technical consultation. India is expected to be represented at Saturday's signing of petroleum minister Murli Deora.
TAPI pipeline would extend some 1,700 kilometres (1050 km) from Turkmenistan Dovletabad field to Indian commune Fazilka, just over the border to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Its cost is estimated at approximately $ 8 billion.
Parts of the pipeline are intended path – over deep Taliban Afghanistan's Kandahar province in the country and then to Pakistan's restive tribal areas. That raises concern among experts on its early feasibility.
-The issue is not only the security in the sense that you actually cannot guarantee the security of the pipeline, but the construction will be difficult, "says Mary Kuusisto, Asia analyst on Eurasia Group.
With the capacity to deliver more than 30 billion cubic metres of gas per year would TAPI comes as Welcome relief for energy-poor Nations along the route.
According to an indicative breakdown, India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan each stand to receive approximately 38 million cubic metres of gas with 90 million cubic metres are delivered daily. Afghanistan would get the rest.
Try to build a pipeline across Afghanistan dates back to the mid-1990s when the United States-led consortium Unocal was locked in fierce competition with the Argentine Bridas to win a deal to build and run the way.
But as the Taliban gained control of Afghanistan, these ambitions was shelved, and remained so during the next decade war.
Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov has strongly reported TAPI, which provides an opportunity for kburnish Turkmenistan's credentials as a bulwark for stability in the region.
Turkmen officials estimated that construction of the pipeline can generate around 12 000 jobs in Afghanistan and serve the several hundred million dollars annually in transit fees.
Turkmenistan has sought to broaden the client base after Russia sharply cut its imports from the Central Asian nation.
A 1 800 miles (1,080 miles) of pipeline to China began pumping gas late last year.
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Leonard contributed to this report from Almaty, Kazakhstan.
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