In the near future, the Afghan side will sign the remaining seven agreements for the implementation of the project with partners in the construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, the Afghan TV company TOLOnews reports, citing a statement from the Afghan Foreign Ministry.

“The Foreign Ministry said that in the near future they will sign the remaining seven agreements on the TAPI gas pipeline with partners in the TAPI project”, TOLOnews reported.

At the same time, the director for strategic research of the Afghan Foreign Ministry, Waliullah Shahin, said that Turkmenistan would provide a loan to the Afghan side to pay its share in the TAPI project, the TV company said.

“Regarding this issue, we have agreed with Turkmenistan that it will provide Afghanistan with a loan to pay expenses, and Afghanistan will return it from the proceeds from this project in the future,” TOLOnews quoted Shahin words.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry noted that there are 16 documents for the implementation of the TAPI project, 9 of which were signed before the collapse of the previous government (Afghanistan), and the remaining 7 agreements will be signed in the near future.

TOLOnews also reports with reference to a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Finance that a budget for the TAPI project will be allocated in the new fiscal year.

The main TAPI gas pipeline with a design capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of gas per year will run from the Galkynysh gas field in southern Turkmenistan through the Afghan cities of Herat and Kandahar, Pakistani Quetta and Multan to the city of Fazilka in western India.

The project is being led by the TAPI Pipeline Company Limited consortium, in which the State Concern Turkmengaz is the leader.  The consortium also includes the Afghan Gas Corporation, Pakistani Inter State Gas Systems (Private) Limited and India's GAIL.

According to preliminary estimates, the total cost of the pipeline will be $ 10 billion.

The construction of the Turkmen section of TAPI started in December 2015.  The laying of the Afghan section of the gas pipeline took place on 23 February 2018.