Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- According to experts, at present, the implementation of the TAPI project is hampered by a set of systemic problems that are the reason for the postponement of the project.

As noted by the Pakistani edition of The Nation, Islamabad has accumulated claims to the current agreement on the construction of the gas pipeline, in particular, Pakistan insists on changing the delivery point of Turkmen gas and revising the price for it.

The TAPI project, a 1,800 km gas pipeline under construction since 2010 from Galkynysh (Turkmenistan) to the Turkmen-Afghan border, then along the Kandahar-Herat highway, then through Quetta and Multan in Pakistan. The final destination is the Indian city of Fazilka. The design capacity is 33 billion cubic meters. gas per year. The cost of the project is US$8-10 billion.

It is noted that under the existing agreement, Turkmenistan will supply gas to Pakistan on the Turkmen-Afghan border, and Islamabad will assume all losses in case of gas losses on Afghan territory. However, the Pakistani authorities demand to change this situation so as not to be held responsible for the losses in the IRA.

In this regard, Pakistan has already created a government committee to negotiate a change in the price formula for gas that will be supplied via TAPI, and only after agreeing on a new price, Islamabad plans to start building a section of the gas pipeline in the country.

According to experts, the implementation of the TAPI project is also constrained by the position of India, which seeks to reduce the prices for Turkmen gas. It is noted that the contract price since 2013 has increased from US$290 to US$350 per thousand cubic meters. Indian analysts believe that India will only be interested in the price of US$140 per thousand cubic meters.

Moreover, according to the plan, Pakistan and India will receive 14 billion cubic meters per year each, Afghanistan - 5 billion. However, Kabul has so far agreed only to 735 million cubic meters.

Experts emphasize that Ashgabat’s intention to build the TAPI gas pipeline, which, in contrast to Russia and China, provides access to foreign markets, cannot yet be realized due to persisting problems and disagreements between the project participants. It is believed that even if Turkmenistan lowers the gas price under the project, the lack of security guarantees and funding sources will not allow the TAPI project to be implemented in a short time.