Thaindian News

Islamabad, Dec 15 (IANS) The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline “could remain a pipedream for years”, a leading Pakistani daily said Wednesday while admitting that it was “a good project - on paper”.An editorial in Dawn Wednesday said: “TAPI could remain a pipedream for years, for it is linked to a final peace settlement in Afghanistan and America has said it will stay in the AfPak region till 2014. That is hardly conducive to TAPI’s fruition.”

While admitting that the TAPI gas pipeline “is a good project - on paper”, it added: “The energy-starved AfPak region and India need oil and gas, and the pipeline from Turkmenistan would take care of part of the gas deficit, if and when the project sees the light of day.”

“An indication of the problems involved is the secrecy surrounding the document signed by the Pakistan, Afghan and Turkmen presidents, and India’s energy minister (Murli Deora). The document has not been made public, and nobody knows the cost of the project or when work will begin.”

The 1,700-km pipeline project was conceived in the late 1990s “but was abandoned because of strife in Afghanistan”.

It said that peace and finances are the two major problems, with “the latter being the lesser of the two”.

The editorial went on to say that in sharp contrast to the TAPI pipeline, “we have the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project which… is at a relatively advanced stage”.