Pakistan, Turkmenistan discuss way forward on projects

Pakistan, Turkmenistan discuss way forward on projects

Islamabad: Pakistan is making renewed efforts to accelerate progress on gas and power projects to meet the growing needs of consumers and industries. Pakistan’s Energy Minister Hammad Azhar discussed the technical aspects and way forward on two multi-billion-dollar projects in detailed talks with the high-level delegation from Turkmenistan led by Deputy Foreign Minister Vepa Hajiyev. The two projects are Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) power transmission line. Minister Azhar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to the TAPI and stressed the need to expedite the project to address the country’s urgent need for additional supplies of natural gas. TAPI with Turkmenistan and Pakistan Stream gas pipeline project with Russia are extremely significant for the country as natural gas is rapidly depleting in Pakistan by 9 per cent annually. Pakistan will also get 3 million tonnes of LNG yearly from Qatar from January 2022 under the new agreement. Pakistan is one of the most gas-intensive countries in the world where natural gas was made available to households at dirt-cheap prices for years. The country is now witnessing gas shortages and load shedding, compelling Pakistan to explore local resources and import LNG which is very expensive. The current gas demand in the country