Latest news with #TAPI
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Pakistan's potential path to becoming an energy transit state
Tribune News Network Doha At the crossroads of strategic ambition and regional complexity lies Pakistan's untapped potential to emerge as a critical energy transit state—linking the hydrocarbon-rich Gulf and Central Asian states with the energy-hungry economies of South and East Asia. In its latest Energy Research Paper, the Al-Attiyah Foundation delves into Pakistan's efforts to harness its geographical advantage, analysing over US$ 35 billion in energy investments from China, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, as well as major transnational projects like the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline (TAPI), Central Asia–South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000) and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The analysis reveals a complex web of opportunity and vulnerability. CPEC, a project that involves upgrading roads, railways, and energy infrastructure to facilitate trade and transportation between the Pakistan and China, has delivered over 13 GW of power capacity through coal, hydro, solar, and wind projects. However, it has also contributed to Pakistan's US$ 1.4 billion in unpaid energy debts and drawn security risks—including militant attacks on Chinese workers between 2021 and 2024. Qatar's US$ 15 billion LNG agreement addressed Pakistan's gas deficit but has become a financial strain amid declining domestic energy demand and currency depreciation. Meanwhile, instability in Afghanistan threatens to derail the US$ 7.7 billion TAPI pipeline and the US$ 1.16 billion CASA-1000 transmission line, both of which are critical to Pakistan's regional integration and energy diversification. Despite these challenges, serious momentum is building. Pakistan's domestic energy system remains under strain, with over 60% of demand met by imported fossil fuels and widespread transmission losses weakening grid reliability. Yet a shift is underway. Solar and wind energy now account for 10% of installed capacity, and the government has pledged to reach 60% clean energy by 2030, including targets to electrify 30% of road transport. Meeting this goal will require 22 GW of new renewable capacity, competitive procurement, and grid modernisation. However, persistent fiscal stress, climate vulnerability, and geopolitical friction continue to test Pakistan's credibility as a stable energy partner in the region.
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
ECO's way forward
Listen to article Attaining proactivity in regional cooperation is becoming a sine qua non as distractions continue to haunt geopolitics. The 17th ECO Summit in Azerbaijan's city of Khankendi took a leap forward as it called for buoying understanding among the member states to overcome bilateral frictions and ensure that geo-economics takes roots. Pakistan flagged the Iran-Israel war, the adamant attitude of India, especially the IWT's unilateral suspension, and the backlash of terrorism from Afghanistan as obstacles hampering regional serenity and development. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif underscored that the 10-nation Eurasian bloc offers the 'best hope' for a unified response, and there should not be any looking back. Pakistan also underlined the necessity of quality development in relevance with climate change considerations. It also proposed developing low-emission corridors, ECO-wide carbon market platforms and a regional disaster resistance system. It's high time the cobweb of railways, roads and waterways, which have successfully been laid down across the region, came to benefit the common man in terms of employment, cheap products and a semblance of growth. So is the case with energy channels that are still in limbo, like the IP gas pipeline, TAPI, CASA-1000 and the trans-Afghan railway connectivity. The point that some of the states are mulling a 'military alliance' in the region has been promptly negated by Pakistan, as it hopes India will give up its confrontational policy and make SAARC a viable entity. Peace between Pakistan and India is indispensable if regional cooperation is to materialise. The potential could be gauged from the fact that according to SBP, imports from India totalled $211.5 million in the first 11 months of FY25; and in May alone when the conflict broke out, imports stood at $15 million. The India-based Global Trade Research Initiative has also reported recently that India's unofficial exports to Pakistan are estimated at $10 billion annually, routed primarily through Dubai, Colombo and Singapore. The need is to get it straight for the collective good of the region.
Arab News
28-04-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan invites Turkmenistan's energy companies to set up operations amid investment push
ISLAMABAD: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has invited Turkmenistan's energy companies to set up operations in Pakistan, state media reported on Monday, as Islamabad seeks foreign investment to boost the country's economy and resolve its energy issues. Energy-starved Pakistan is actively pursuing energy cooperation with Turkmenistan, particularly through the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) gas pipeline project. This initiative aims to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan's Galkynysh field to Pakistan, passing through Afghanistan and extending to India as well. Pakistan has attempted to strengthen cooperation in energy, tourism, mines and minerals as well as other priority sectors in recent months in its bid to attract international investment. It seeks to establish itself as a trade and transit hub that connects landlocked Central Asian states to the global economy. 'Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has invited energy companies of Turkmenistan to establish operations in Pakistan,' Radio Pakistan said in a report, adding that the minister was speaking at an event in Ashgabat. Iqbal said the TAPI gas pipeline project would contribute to regional energy security and support Pakistan's green energy transition, deeming it essential to cope with climate change impacts. The TAPI project was envisaged in the early 1990s and officially agreed upon in December 2010. It has primarily been delayed due to security concerns, geopolitical tensions, funding challenges and bureaucratic hurdles. Pakistan faces significant gas and energy problems that have deepened over the years due to a combination of rising demand, depleting domestic resources and poor management. The country's natural gas reserves are rapidly declining, while efforts to discover new fields have lagged behind. Pakistan has increasingly relied on imported liquefied natural gas which strains its foreign exchange reserves and exposes it to global price fluctuations. Frequent power shortages known as load-shedding disrupt daily life and hurt economic productivity. Outdated infrastructure, inefficiencies in the energy sector, circular debt and policy inconsistencies have made it difficult to develop long-term sustainable solutions.
Express Tribune
09-04-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Kazakhstan to join TAPI Gas Pipeline Project
Listen to article Kazakhstan is set to officially announce its participation in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project, heralding a new chapter in regional energy cooperation. This development was shared by the Ambassador of Kazakhstan during a meeting with Pakistan's Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Khalid Hussain Magsi, held in Islamabad on Tuesday. The high-level meeting focused on strengthening bilateral ties in key areas, including education, scientific research, and technological collaboration. Both sides expressed a firm commitment to deepening strategic cooperation between Kazakhstan and Pakistan. Khalid Hussain Magsi revealed that both nations are in the process of finalising several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) aimed at boosting collaboration in the education sector. He welcomed Kazakhstan's interest in enhancing institutional linkages, particularly the proposal to establish a joint research centre at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) in Islamabad. The Kazakh ambassador underscored the importance of creating a conducive business environment and proposed collaborative measures to curb smuggling. He emphasised that Kazakhstan views Pakistan as a key regional partner in achieving shared goals of economic connectivity and scientific advancement.
Express Tribune
26-02-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Central Asia connect
Listen to article Pakistan's focus on expanding ties with Central Asian Republics is an outcome of geo-economics. The graduation of CPEC into its second phase has thrown open new opportunities for the landlocked former Soviet states, as well as Afghanistan, to buoy their regional interaction for collective good. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's visits to Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan were intended at kick-starting a new phase of understanding, and to cement relations on a broader horizon of multilateralism. The promise from Baku to invest over $2 billion in Pakistan and, likewise, the eagerness of Tashkent to expand bilateral trade to $2 billion are epoch-making developments, and need to be firmly implemented. There are a large number of sectors that Pakistan can tap for these progressive republics in the north, especially in defence cooperation, transportation, energy and mining. A cobweb of unbridled air connectivity is a must, and it is a pity that Pakistan is still not on the map of several airlines that, otherwise, frequently fly to capitals in the region. The Tashkent-Lahore flight is a good initiative which should be extended to Astana, Samarkand, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Bukhara and Minsk. Similarly, easing of visa regulations and due patronage to the businesses community is indispensable. Another area of interest should be infrastructure development to cut down on the road travel in the region, and enable logistics on a supersonic speed as is the case in Europe. Last but not least is pinning cultural and academic interactions to galvanise a better understanding of ethos for promoting pluralism. As trade and commerce take roots, it necessitates an understanding to further the prospects for peace in Afghanistan. Nothing could be materialised with revulsion in the West Asian state, and Kabul has a major responsibility to dispense by exterminating terror fissures on its soil. This will not only help prospective energy projects such as TAPI and CASA-1000, but also the proposed railway link between Pakistan and Uzbekistan via Afghanistan. That is how geo-economics could be realised for the betterment of around a billion people in the region.
