BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 11. Turkmenistan is
ready to cooperate with Afghanistan in beginning practical work on
the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) electricity
transmission project.
This was announced by the press service of the Office of the
Prime Minister of Afghanistan, citing the Chairman of
Turkmenistan's Halk Maslahaty, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov's remark
during a meeting with an Afghan delegation in Herat.
“Turkmenistan is ready to cooperate in beginning practical work
on the TAP project,” the publication quoted Berdimuhamedov as
saying.
Berdimuhamedov added that several foreign companies have
expressed readiness to invest in the project.
In turn, Afghanistan's Deputy Prime Minister for Economic
Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund called on Turkmenistan to
support major economic projects in Afghanistan in the electricity
and transportation sectors.
Berdimuhamedov assured the Afghan side that ongoing electricity
and railway projects in Afghanistan would be completed on schedule
and at an accelerated pace, the publication said.
Meanwhile, Turkmenistan is one of the electricity suppliers to
Afghanistan, while the development of cross-border transmission
lines is intended to increase the volume and reliability of power
supplies. The TAP-500 project envisages a high-voltage transmission
line through Afghanistan toward Pakistan, creating a potential
additional channel for Turkmen electricity exports and linking the
country's power system with markets in Afghanistan and
Pakistan.
For Ashgabat, TAP therefore has a broader significance than
supplying electricity to a single neighboring country. For Kabul,
the project could expand access to electricity while supporting
infrastructure development, industrial activity and the country's
broader economic connectivity. The renewed focus on practical work
suggests that electricity cooperation is gradually moving from
agreements toward implementation.
