Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline

From Free net encyclopedia

The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (or TAP) is a proposed natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan, into Pakistan and the Indian Ocean. The Afghani government is expected to receive 8% of the project's revenue. TAP will be constructed alongside the highway running from Herat to Kandahar, and then via Quetta and Multan in Pakistan. The cost of this international infrastructure is estimated at US$3.5 billion (2005 figures). Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road.

The deal on the pipeline was signed on December 27, 2002 by the leaders of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Signing the agreement was made possible by the invasion of Afghanistan by United States military forces a year prior, which overthrew the Taliban government controlling most of Afghanistan. Building the pipeline was cited by some critics of the Bush administration as a motivation for the invasion. However, since then the project has essentially stalled; construction of the Turkmen part is supposed to start in 2006, but the overall feasibility is questionable since the southern part of the Afghan section runs through territory which continues to be under de facto Taliban control.

[edit]