150 of 153 kilometers: Turkmenistan's TAPI pipeline is almost at Herat
Central Asia Column “Steppe Ahead”
150.3 of the 153 kilometers of the TAPI route in Afghanistan’s Herat Province are ready for pipeline installation. This was reported by the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum on September 15. 122.3 kilometers of pipe have already been welded and laid—nearly twice as much as in May. Turkmenistan is thus closer to a new gas customer than it has been in years.
Construction Pace Doubled: 122 Kilometers of Pipe Laid Along the Route
The figures come from Kabul. Hamayoun Afghan, spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, said according to the Afghan news agency DID Press: “150.3 kilometers of the 153-kilometer route of the TAPI gas pipeline project in Herat Province are ready for laying to begin.” That corresponds to 98% of the route. According to the ministry, 71.5 kilometers of the laid pipes have already been buried. 33 kilometers have passed the hydrostatic pressure test.
The English-language regional portal Times of Central Asia breaks down the progress: In May, only 63 kilometers of pipe had been laid along the route; by mid-September, that figure had risen to 122.3 kilometers. The pace of construction has thus nearly doubled within four months. The Afghan section begins at the Turkmen border near Serhetabat and runs to the provincial capital, Herat. Construction has been underway there since September 2024, following years of inactivity since the symbolic groundbreaking in 2018. TAPI stands for Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India—the four planned terminals of the pipeline. Ashgabat has reported the Turkmen section up to the border as complete since 2024.
Herat to Be First Customer: Gas for the Industrial Park in Six Months
On August 10, the Turkmen state-owned company Turkmengaz and Afghan Gas signed a memorandum on gas deliveries through the new pipeline. Afghanistan will thus become the first paying customer, long before the pipeline reaches Pakistan. According to the Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews, Herat Governor Noor Ahmad Islamjar announced that TAPI gas is expected to reach the city of Herat and the province’s industrial park within six months.
Demand is already building. Mohammad Nasir Amin, head of the Herat Chamber of Industry and Mining, said, according to TOLOnews: “Major manufacturers of tiles, ceramics, and glass are waiting for the gas connection before starting production.” According to the project plan, Afghanistan is set to receive 5 billion cubic meters annually, though significantly smaller volumes will flow initially. At the same time, both sides are planning a 500-kilovolt power line and a railway line approximately 120 kilometers long from the Turkmen border to Herat. According to the Times of Central Asia, only 22 kilometers of the railway toward Sanabar have been completed so far, with construction set to begin in 2024. Prices and supply volumes for the Afghan gas deal are still undecided, according to the Times of Central Asia. According to DID Press, both sides are also planning a distribution network for the city of Herat, with construction set to begin shortly.
Pakistan and India: 28 billion cubic meters remain uncontracted
The overall plan extends far beyond Herat. The pipeline from Turkmenistan to India is expected to stretch approximately 1,814 kilometers. Its capacity is 33 billion cubic meters per year. Fourteen billion cubic meters each are earmarked for Pakistan and India, and 5 billion for Afghanistan. To date, there is neither a supply contract nor a timeline for the two major customers. According to the Times of Central Asia, Islamabad and New Delhi have not set a date for the pipeline’s extension into their territories.
For Ashgabat, however, every kilometer counts. About 30 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas flow annually to China, by far the largest buyer. This concentration makes export revenues vulnerable: Beijing largely determines prices and volumes on its own. TAPI is to be supplied from Galkynysh, one of the world’s largest gas fields. Development of the fourth phase there is set to begin in 2026, also with Chinese participation. Former President and current National Leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov named the diversification of export routes a top priority for the country in February. Herat provides the first evidence of this in years: a second export connection—small, but real.
The growth figures show just how much the economy needs this new market. The government reported a 6.3% increase for the first half of 2026. According to the Times of Central Asia, however, the IMF estimates Turkmenistan’s growth at only 2.3%. The gap between the two figures is typical of the country’s opaque statistics.
The risks remain significant. The financing for the sections in Pakistan remains unresolved, and international banks are shying away from doing business with the Taliban regime. Kabul must also guarantee the security of the route on a long-term basis. In the short term, success hinges on a simple question: Will Afghanistan pay reliably for its gas? If the answer is yes, Turkmenistan’s most important infrastructure project will regain an economic foundation for the first time since 2018.
Source: Times of Central Asia, TOLOnews, DID Press, Times of Central Asia (Background) (all in English)