The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is organizing a meeting to finalise a framework agreement for the $4 billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project on August 22-23 in Islamabad , English language daily "Dawn" reported. The delegations of the four nations would attend the steering committee meeting on the Asian Development. The security situation in Afghanistan would be one of the key issues for discussion at the meeting. The delegations will specify allocation and requirements for gas in recipient countries through the pipeline that is to stretch over more than 1,600 km from Turkmenistan's south-eastern Daulatabad field to Indian city of Bikaner, via Afghanistan and Pakistan. The gas quantities involved would be reflected in the draft gas sales and purchase agreements (GSPA) to be prepared by Pakistan . The framework agreement would trigger a host of activities and endorsements between and among the four nations and the ADB. The framework is to deal with contractual obligations of the parties in pipeline construction, security, gas tariff and uninterrupted gas flows over the 30-year lifespan of the project. The ADB furnished a final draft of the inter-governmental agreement to the four nations in April this year along with some modifications that were required to allow inclusion of India in the project. The original inter-governmental agreement was prepared without making India a part of the project and hence an amended draft was required following a decision of the Indian cabinet to join the project. The ADB had concluded through a feasibility study that the inclusion of India would be of great benefit not only for the project but all stakeholders. The ADB has already incorporated Indian suggestions in the agreement. The report said that before finalisation of any agreement, the four stakeholders would have to hammer out seven issues that had been hampering progress on the project for almost two years now. The cost of the 56-inch diameter and 1,435 km pipeline (from Turkmenistan to Pakistani city of Multan ) has recently been updated to about $4 billion from $3.3 billion in 2004. The pipeline that is to originate from Turkmenistan's Daulatabad gas field will run 145 km in the host country, 735 km in Afghanistan and 555 km in Pakistan to Multan under the preferred southern route i.e., via Herat and Kandahar. The ADB was working on a northern route on Indian request that should pass through Mazar-i-Sharif, Kabul and Peshawar to Lahore for onward extension to the Indian city of Bikaner . The ADB had originally funded the feasibility study for the project in 2004 and was now updating it.
