Afghan Voice Agency(AVA)_Monitoring, Mohammad Yunus Mohmand, the head of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment in an official ceremony that took place in Kandahar province earlier in the week said, that it was an important step towards economic development of the country.
Truckloads of liquefied gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan through Afghanistan is a new initiative facilitated by the Islamic Emirate authorities, a major step towards economic development and trade connectivity in the region.
Mr. Mohmand further explained that previously gas was transferred to Pakistan via Iran, however, now Afghanistan under the Islamic Emirate has become a safe transit option, allowing for large-scale exports in this direction.
Yasser Basir, an international firm, has started exporting natural gas to Pakistan through the Spin Boldak land port. Some 50 tankers of gas – each carrying 30 tonnes of liquefied gas that arrived in Kandahar were sent to Pakistan.
According to Kandahar Customs officials, Afghanistan has seen a significant increase in cargo shipments to Central Asia in the past year. In 2021, a total of 22,891 cargo containers were sent to Central Asian countries through Afghanistan. This number rose to 53,679 consignments in the following year, 2022.
The mega Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project remains stalled due to the late regime change and security concerns in Afghanistan. However, the successful export of Turkmen gas from Afghanistan to Pakistan via truck is a promising step toward the country’s economic development.
The stalled TAPI pipeline was aimed to connect Turkmenistan, Pakistan, India via Afghanistan. Islamic Emirate administration has pledged its support for the project, considering it a vital component of the nation’s future economic infrastructure, and the vital role it can play towards the economic development of the country.
It is believed that Kabul could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in transit fees through this arrangement once the project is completed.