ADB to assume transaction advisory role for TAPI pipeline

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been appointed transaction advisor to help attract a commercial consortium leader of global repute that will build, own and operate the planned 1800 km Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan India (TAPI) natural gas pipeline.

"One step closer to fruition"

"We are grateful for the confidence the parties have in ADV to help move this important gas project one step closer to fruition" said Klaus Gerhaeusser, Director General of ADB's Central and West Asia Department. "It will bring multiple benefits to the participants, including access to new markets, enhanced energy security and job opportunities, and have transformational impact on regional co-operation and boost other initiatives aimed at bringing peace and stability to the region."

Under an agreement signed with the countries’ state gas firms, ADB will advise on the establishment of the TAPI pipeline company, undertake technical due diligence, and handle the biding and selection of a commercial consortium leader to build, own and operate the pipeline. The company will be jointly owned by the four state gas firms: State Concerns “Turkmengas”, Afghan Enterprise, Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Limited, and GAIL (India) Limited. When selected, the commercial consortium leader will take a majority stake in the company.

TAPI project

The project, set for completion in 2017 by the four contrives, will aim to export up to 33 billiom m³/year of natural gas from Turkmenistan – with the world’s fourth largest proven reserves – to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India over 30 years. It will allow landlocked Turkmenistan to diversity its gas export markets to the southeast, provide a vital new fuel source for developing southern Afghanistan, and help Pakistan tackle chronic fuel shortages. In India, it will allow the northern region to access a steady supply of gas to fuel its economic growth.

ADB has provided secretariat services for the development of the legal and institutional framework of the TAPI project since 2002, and more than US$ 4 million in technical assistance. The pipeline was estimated to cost about US$ 7.6 billion in 2008, but the final amount could now be substantially different.

Adapted from press release by Hannah Priestley-Eaton

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/20112013/adb_to_assume_transaction_advisory_role_for_tapi_pipeline/