Acting Minister of Mines and Oil Shahabuddeen Delavar said Saturday that the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) gas pipeline project will practically be launched in the second half of this year.

Delavar made this statement to reporters after talks with Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Vepa Khadzhiev, who arrived in Afghanistan for talks, Pajhwok Afghan News reports.

The acting minister said that representatives of the two countries assured each other that they would make serious efforts to implement the TAPI project and take adequate measures to ensure security.

According to him, the TAPI project will be launched in the second half of this year, and land acquisition will be carried out through a transparent mechanism. He added: "There have been many problems in Afghanistan for decades, it was not possible to implement small projects, but now security has improved, so this project, which will cost seven to nine billion dollars, is being implemented."

Delavar noted that the implementation of this project is important not only for Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, but also for Pakistan and India.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan at the talks in Herat also said that the key issue in the implementation of the TAPI project is security, the situation in Afghanistan has improved and the foundation has been laid for the implementation of the TAPI project in the country.

ORIENT news