TAPI pipeline project to commence soon

01 Nov 2021 CW Team

Authorities from Turkmenistan are likely to arrive this weekend in Kabul to discuss commencing the work on the 1,800 kilometre TAPI pipeline, which Unocal vice-president Marty Miller's imagination helped birth—and, if it was not for 9/11, Unocal might just have succeeded.

TAPI is built to transport 33 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas each year from the Galkynysh fields, the world’s second-largest, across Afghanistan and Pakistan into Fazilka in southern Punjab.

For over three decades, the project has been viewed as a win for all its participants. Landlocked Turkmenistan would discover markets for its gas, cash-strapped Afghanistan and Pakistan would obtain from transit fees, and hydrocarbon-hungry India from reliable, cheap energy.

Even as it fought the Afghan state, the Taliban promised not to attack any TAPI-related development work, knowing it would additionally bring windfall gains.

Since 2016, New Delhi has supported TAPI; government-owned energy giant GAIL holds a 5% stake in the TAPI Pipeline Company, the special-purpose consortium behind the project.

Despite the hype, though, huge questions are hanging over the project—and not just around the obvious problems associated with pushing a pipeline through a war-torn nation. Funding the pipeline is the biggest of them.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has evaluated the cost of constructing the pipeline itself at some $10 billion. Experts consider the actual amount slightly higher, at $14-16 billion, not including upstream investments required for Turkmenistan to generate the promised 33bcm.

Expert Steve Mann has recommended that, in reality, it is very fair to view TAPI as a $40 billion plan.

Image Source

Technology

13 May 2026

Kaizen AI Discusses Real Estate AI Adoption Across Projects

Real estate developers, architects and technology firms discussed the growing implementation of artificial intelligence across active projects in India, Dubai and the United States during a media interaction held in Mumbai this week.The discussion focused on how AI-driven systems are increasingly being used in live real estate projects to evaluate planning, parking, efficiency, cost and constructability at a scale beyond conventional workflows.Kaizen AI, which has worked on more than 200 projects globally, showcased how AI-led optimisation systems are being integrated into developments across ..

Sanghvi Palazzo Gets OC Ahead of RERA Timeline

Sanghvi Realty has received the Occupation Certificate (OC) for its residential project Sanghvi Palazzo in Andheri West, Mumbai, around 18 months ahead of its RERA possession deadline of December 2027.Located on Jai Bhavani Mata Road, Ambivali, the project comprises a G+9 residential development with 41 apartments, including 1, 2 and 3 BHK configurations ranging from 358 sq. ft. to 770 sq. ft. carpet area.The company said the receipt of the OC marks the completion of all regulatory approvals and construction activities for the project.Pakshal Sanghvi, Director, Sanghvi Realty, said timely deli..

Gradiant Deploys AI Data Centre Water Solution Globally

Gradiant has announced the deployment of HyperSolved, its end-to-end cooling water solution for AI data centres, with several global hyperscale operators across major international markets.The company said the platform has been designed to address rising water infrastructure challenges linked to the rapid expansion of AI-driven data centres, which require significantly higher cooling and water consumption compared to traditional facilities.According to Gradiant, HyperSolved integrates the complete cooling water lifecycle, including sourcing, treatment, reuse and discharge, into a single platfo..