France, Russia Holding TAPI Gas Pipeline Talks - Pakistan's PM Sharif

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Negotiations on the company, which will head the Turkmenistan-based pipeline project through Afghanistan and Pakistan to India are underway with the French company Total and a member of the Rostec company RT Global resources, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Monday.

In June, Turkmenistan's ambassador to India, Parahat Durdyev, told Sputnik that the selection of the consortium to finance the pipeline would be finalized by September 1.

"Negotiations with France's Total and Russian RT Global Resources regarding the syndicate for the TAPI project are under way. The parties reached agreement on the schedule during the last meeting of TAPI's steering committee. It is expected that future agreement will help implement the project on time," Sharif told RIA Novosti in an interview.

The minister stressed that the gas pipeline project must be completed as soon as possible and that Pakistan would like to see all parties involved in TAPI adhere to the schedule and complete the project.

"The project will not only contribute to the needs of customers in energy, but also strengthen the cordial relations between the members of the parties of the TAPI project," he added.

The TAPI is a proposed pipeline of over 1,000 miles, intended to transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan to India. Initially, the project's cost was estimated at $7.5 billion, but later projections put a $10-billion price tag on the project.

According to Durdyev, the launch of the project is expected in December 2015, with gas deliveries to India through the pipeline likely to start in 2018.