Turkmenistan to Begin TAPI Gas Supply to Afghanistan by Early 2027
Turkmenistan has announced plans to start supplying gas to Afghanistan through the TAPI pipeline project by early 2027. Mohammadmurat Amanov, head of the TAPI project, stated that infrastructure work within Afghanistan will be completed by the end of next year.
The TAPI project—an acronym for Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India—is a major initiative to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan’s gas fields to South Asian countries. The pipeline is set to pass through Afghanistan en route to Pakistan and India. However, security instability, political interference, and a lack of transparent governance in Afghanistan have posed serious challenges to the project’s implementation.
Although Taliban officials claim the project is making progress, the absence of a legitimate and transparent government in Afghanistan raises serious doubts about the feasibility of meeting these deadlines. The Taliban administration, which currently controls the country, had previously met on October 23 with Turkmenistan’s vice president on the sidelines of an international exhibition in Ashgabat.
During that meeting, both parties underscored the pipeline’s significance for regional economic development and welcomed recent progress and the start of the project’s second phase as signs of hope. Issues faced by Afghan traders in transit and trade with Turkmenistan were also discussed, and both sides agreed to continue consultations to resolve these challenges.
Nevertheless, the absence of legal and accountable institutions within the Taliban administration continues to cast doubt over the project’s future. Observers note that without a clear legal framework and reliable security guarantees, regional projects like TAPI are unlikely to succeed.
