TAPI implementation will have positive impact on regional security: Experts

KABUL (Pajhwok): Economic Affairs Experts believed that the Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan India (TAPI) gas pipeline project and other similar schemes implementation would have positive impact on regional security and eradicate unemployment besides several other economic advantages.

The TAPI gas pipeline project – which is more than 1800 km long and 816 km of which passes through Afghanistan – was opened once in Afghanistan in 2016, but its practical works have not yet started.

The 214-Km section of this gas pipeline has been completed in the territory of Turkmenistan, and today (Wednesday) work of extending it to the territory of Afghanistan kicked off.

Nazakmir Zyarmal, the economic affairs expert, told Pajhwok Afghan News the TAPI, TAP, Rail Road and Optical Fiber projects would have several benefits for Afghanistan.

He added: “Afghanistan will receive 3 million metric tons of liquid gas and approximately $400 million in revenue from the transit of the TAPI, and $200 million in revenue from the transit of the TAP project.”

He added that electricity would be provided to all the villages in the path of TAPI and TAP projects, and all the roads will be built along the path of these projects.

Nazakmir added, with the start of these projects, millions of Afghans would be given jobs, the unemployment rate would decrease and it would have a positive impact on the economy of the people.

Another Economic Affairs Expert Qais Mohammadi told Pajhwok Afghan News that regional projects not only have several political, economic and social advantages for Afghanistan but all the member states of these projects.

He said the main hurdle in the way of these projects in Afghanistan was absence of security and disagreement of major powers but these problems has been resolved now to some extent and the implementation of these projects was significant now.

Mohammadi said the initiation of such regional projects will provide employment to tens of thousands of people and reduce the unemployment rate.

Those Afghans who have studied in different areas of implementation of these projects and are in other countries, they should be invited to come to Afghanistan and help in the implementation of these projects.

He said that these projects have an impact on the stability and security of the region, incoordination and political instability between two countries can create obstacles in the implementation of these projects.

According to Mohammadi, countries should provide security for the implementation of projects among themselves, and an exceptional situation should be created for these projects to keep these projects separate from political purposes.

The acting deputy prime minister office for economic affairs on its twitter handle wrote that the implementation of TAPI project would convert Afghanistan into a connectivity point between south and central Asia.