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Pakistan assures safeguarding four-nation pipeline project
17 November 2010: The Pakistan Government has reportedly assured the members of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project that it has both the experience and resources to safeguard the network within its region.
Recently in a meeting held in Turkmenistan, Pakistan gave a presentation on how it will handle the security of the network. In its presentation, Pakistan said that success of its own domestic gas pipeline networks are an example of its capability of handling TAPI network within its territory.
Besides, the project is seen as one of national importance as Pakistan also needs gas as much as India and others.
Security concerns were expressed by India for the 800-km stretch of the over 1,680-km pipeline network that will fall in Pakistan at the earlier official-level meeting on the project. The network in Pakistan will pass through Quetta, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan, and Pakpattan. It will enter India from Fazilka in Punjab.
Afghanistan was the first to give a presentation on how it will handle the security of the 735-km stretch of the network, which falls in its region. A stretch of the network will pass through Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Security concerns, gas pricing, delivery point of gas, payment of transportation tariff, and transit fee have proved detrimental in the multi-dollar Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) project also, the fate of which is still hanging.
The TAPI project envisages constructing 1,680 km of pipeline with a total gas capacity of 90 mscmd. It will get India about 38 mmscmd of gas. Another round of official-level meeting on the project is expected before the Heads of the States of the partner countries meet around December 11. When the Heads of the States meet an inter-Governmental agreement and the Gas Pipeline Framework Agreement (GPFA) is likely to be signed.
Source: Hindu Business Line