Pak efforts provided impetus to Tapi gas pipeline

The materialization of $ 10 billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) gas pipeline which is going to be a big game changer for three energy-deficient countries importing gas from Turkmenistan, owes somewhat to Nawaz Sharif government’s consistent efforts to address the irritants and hurdles that had been coming in the way till the recent past.

This was disclosed by a US-based Pakistani businessman, Chaudhry Muhammad Azam, while talking to The News. According to Azam who has contacts with business community, officials and diplomats of Turkmenistan and who met the Federal Petroleum Ministry seniors the other day in connection with import of good quality and affordable liquefied gas from Turkmenistan, the efforts of Pakistani government in this area provided impetus to the negotiations on Tapi pipeline.

Hitherto, the project was moving at a snail’s pace, rather in a hibernation mode, ever since its inception 20 years back, in 1995. The basic reason that pushed the PML-N government to pursue Tapi project was the government’s strong commitment to explore more and more vistas for overcoming the country’s ever-worsening energy crisis. It was an uphill task to get the project through because it involved security concerns and apprehensions pertaining to Afghanistan imbroglio. India too had been expressing its reservations about the vulnerability of pipeline in some areas of Pakistan. Sharif government took up these challenges and pursued the matter patiently and perseveringly thus finally succeeding in rebuilding the confidence of all the partners of Tapi project, opined Azam. The result of these efforts undertaken by Pakistani government came to the fore on December 13 last when the groundbreaking ceremony of Tapi gas pipeline took place in southeastern Turkmenistan which was also attended by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Turkmenistan President, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.

“Pakistan, in fact, shared its practical experience in the energy projects and in addition to doing a lot of fire-fighting (against strife, wherever and in whichever form it existed), it also made concrete workable recommendations that were finally adopted to make the project a reality”.

The pipeline’s capacity will be 33 billion cubic metres (1.2 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas per year of which 5 billion cubic metres (180 billion cubic feet) will be provided to Afghanistan. Pakistan and India will get over 1.3 billion cubic feet per day of gas from Tapi while Afghanistan will get 0.5 billion cubic feet. India will pay$200-250 million in transit fees to Pakistan while Pakistan will pay the same amount in transit fees to Afghanistan.

Another foreign-based Pakistani businessman, Ishtiaq Khan, says that the groundbreaking ceremony for the pipeline can be described as a great achievement of the present Pakistani Government whose endeavours would effectively help in coping with the problems of rapid depletion of Pakistan’s gas reserves as well as the increasing demand in domestic, power, industrial and commercial sectors.

The other project that would benefit Pakistan substantially is 1000-megawatt Central Asia South Asia electricity import project which, combined with China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and road projects with Afghanistan, is a manifestation of current government policy to enhance regional connectivity and meet the energy deficit.

For Pakistan, the project will definitely help avert a growing energy crisis already causing electricity shortages and suspension of gas supplies to industrial sector and CNG stations. This gas communication will relieve Pakistan’s economy of its weakness and help combat extremism.

The pipeline that is expected to be operational by 2019, will enable Sharif government to deliver on the promise of “High priority to import gas through pipelines” made in 2013’s election manifesto of PML-N.

TAPI, according to experts, is not just a gas transit initiative connecting energy-rich Central Asia with energy-starved South Asia, but a trailblazing project that will open doors for greater regional economic collaboration and integration. It will also provide the shortest route for access to seaports through Central Asian republic and other states in the region. And, for sure, the TAPI project will bring peace to the region and promote trade.

It is also believed that TAPI would play a big role in aligning the perspectives of major stakeholders on Afghanistan’s internal situation, since it will tie the future energy security of three South Asian countries together, making them partners in each other’s stability. Even otherwise, greater economic cooperation amongst the countries participating in the project is an essential foundation for future peace in region.

Even one of the most progressive and influential financing institution of global fame, Asian Development Bank (ADB) is ready to extend maximum help terming the TAPI project “a historic project”.

In Pakistan, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has already termed energy crisis as the most important problem being faced by incumbent government and has vowed to resolve the same on war footings.

The PM is rather on record having publicly stated before media seniors and in other important gatherings that “there is a need to change this big challenge into opportunity as the nation cannot afford wastage of even a single moment” and “the government would be able to add 13000MWs to the national grid by 2017”.Under PM’s instructions Energy Policy was also announced which envisaged increasing power generation from12,200 megawatts to 26,800 megawatts.

According to the detailed programme announced in the policy, the average electricity rates will be reduced from Rs14.70 to Rs10per unit by shifting the burden from thermal to hydel power plants and switching to cheaper alternative fuel such as coal.

Currently, the share of hydel power in the total energy mix is hardly 30%. The government energy policy aims to boost its share to70% by building both large and small dams and carrying out some other initiatives to increase generation from 23,000 MW to 34,824MW.