TAPI project's implementation suspended until situation 'stabilizes' in Afghanistan

Kabul [Afghanistan], November 27 : Implementation of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project has been suspended until the situation in Afghanistan stabilizes, TASS reported citing Pakistan's Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Omar Ayub Khan as saying.
"The work on the TAPI, as well as on other projects like CASA-1000 [power transmission system project - TASS], is on hold due to the situation in Afghanistan," Ayub Khan said on Thursday.
"According to the information that we have, at the moment no one is working on this project in Afghanistan as well as on other projects. Many people have been evacuated, and representatives of the World Bank are no longer represented in Afghanistan," Ayub Khan said.
"After stabilizing the situation, we will be able to return to the issue of construction. But for now, the project has been suspended until the situation is cleared up," he added.
The TAPI Project -- which was launched in 2016 -- is expected to carry 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas each year. In Afghanistan, the work on the project began in 2018. But in the past years, its construction faced delays in the country due to insecurity and other issues, according to Tolo News.