Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) have after some 22 years of deliberation begun the process of front-end engineering and design FEED route survey on the so-called peace pipeline that will provide gas to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. TAPI company Chairman and Economic Advisor to Afghanistan President and ISGA Managing Director Mobin Saulat said that the German consulting firm ILF would conduct the route survey.

TAPI company officials have underscored the project's economic role and that this was most important in bringing social stability in the entire region. Company Chairman Muhammet Mural Amanov said that work on the project had been done as gas sales and investment agreements had been signed. He said that they had received several offers from financial institutions and private parties to fund this project. He said that work on development of gas field had started. “The agreement with Islamic development bank (IDB) has been signed to provide financing for the project.

Turkmenistan will invest around $25 billion to deliver 3.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day (bcfd) to energy-hungry Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

Of the total, $15 billion will be poured into developing a gas field whereas $10 billion will be injected into laying the pipeline over 1,680 km connecting Afghanistan, Pakistan and India with Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan will invest 85% of the project’s cost.

A consortium of Japanese companies have accelerated the development of the gas fields in Turkmentistan.