Niyazov and Afghan President Hamid Karzai are reported to have discussed the project by phone recently, following a visit by Karzai to India earlier in the month. India is considering whether to meet its expanding energy needs with pipelines from Turkmenistan or Iran, both of which would pass through Pakistan, or alternately from Myanmar in the east. The Turkmen-Afghan pipeline project’s main sponsor is the Asian Development Bank.
The 1,680-km pipeline, on which construction is to begin next year, is to run through Herat and Kandahar in Afghanistan, the Pakistani cities of Quetta and Multan, and on to the Indian border town of Fazilka. The US$3.5-billion project would tap into natural gas wells at Turkmenistan’s huge Dauletabad-Donmez field, which holds more than 2.83 trillion cubic meters (100 trillion cubic feet) in gas reserves. Since the US-led offensive that ousted the Taliban from power in Afghanistan, the pipeline project has been revived and drawn strong US support. It would allow formerly Soviet Central Asian nations to export rich energy resources without relying on Russian routes.