Tajikistan explains reason for the delay in construction of gas pipeline to China
Dushanbe
The construction of the “Central Asia – China, Line D” gas pipeline in the territory of Tajikistan is facing delays due to disagreements in pricing among the participating countries in the project, stated Daler Juma, the Minister of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan, in Dushanbe, Asia Plus reports.
He emphasized that Tajikistan has resolved all issues related to the presumed gas pipeline, and disagreements have arisen among other countries involved in the project. However, the minister did not specify which countries have not reached a consensus regarding the pricing – whether for the sale of Turkmenistan’s gas to China or for its transit through the territories of the respective countries.
According to the Ministry of Energy of Tajikistan, the gas pipeline will traverse the territories of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan (205 km), Tajikistan (391 km), Kyrgyzstan (215 km), and China (155 km).
The total length of the line, which aims to supply Turkmen gas to China, will be 966 km.
The intergovernmental agreement for the construction of this gas pipeline in Tajikistan was signed in September 2013. In March 2014, the Chinese oil and gas company CNPC signed an agreement with “Tajiktransgas,” leading to the creation of a joint venture for the construction and operation of the Trans-Tajik Gas Pipeline Company Ltd, with the participation of parties amounting to $300 million.
Within the project in Tajikistan, the construction of 42 mountain tunnels with a total length of 63.3 km and other infrastructure is planned.
Within Tajikistan, the route will pass through the territories of the cities of Tursunzade and Gissar, and the districts of Shahrinav, Rudaki, Vahdat, Fayzabad, Nurabad, Rasht, Tajikabad, and Lyakhsh, reaching the Kyrgyzstan border.
It is expected that the gas pipeline will annually deliver 25-30 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Turkmenistan to China. The implementation of this project will attract over $3 billion in direct investments from China into the economy of Tajikistan.
The construction of the first tunnel (in the Rudaki district) was only completed in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in the same year, seems to have further slowed down the project’s implementation, as there have been no reports on the completion of construction for subsequent facilities.
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Courtesy: Central Asian Light (Posted on February 2, 2024)
