Astana’s $10B pipeline plan stalls as TAPI partners remain quiet

Kazakhstan is awaiting an official position from participants in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline (TAPI) regarding its potential involvement in the project, the country’s Ministry of Energy told Interfax-Kazakhstan.

«As part of a preliminary exchange of views, an official letter expressing interest in exploring possible forms of Kazakhstan’s participation in the project was sent. To date, no response has been received from the project initiators,» the ministry said in response to a request from the news agency.

In October 2024, during the Kazakhstan-Afghanistan Business Forum, Kazakh officials expressed interest in joining the TAPI project and began negotiations with Turkmen counterparts.

«If a Kazakh company successfully joins this project, new opportunities for cooperation between our countries in the gas sector will open up,» Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said at the time.

He later added that Kazakhstan had approached prospective TAPI partners with a proposal to acquire a 30% stake in the project but has yet to receive a response.

Read also: Kazakhstan seeks Indian Ocean access through Afghanistan.

The total length of the TAPI gas pipeline is projected at 1,810 kilometers. Of that, 214 kilometers will run through Turkmenistan, 774 kilometers through Afghanistan, and 826 kilometers across Pakistan to the Indian border.