ISLAMABAD, April 18: A high-level meeting will be held here next week to resolve the thorny issues which have been delaying finalisation of the four-nation $4 billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) gas pipeline project.

The steering committee meeting on Tapi is scheduled to be held from April 22 to 24 with a mandate to resolve the issues.

This was stated by Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Khwaja Mohammad Asif during a meeting with Ambassador of Turkmenistan Sapar Berdiniyaov on Thursday.

Khwaja Asif said the project would help promote political goodwill in the region.

The Turkmen ambassador said that beyond the Tapi gas pipeline project, Turkmenistan desired to strengthen bilateral relations in different fields.

The capital cost of the 1,435-km pipeline of 56-inch diameter was recently raised to about $4 billion from $3.3 billion estimated in 2003.

The pipeline which will originate in Turkmenistan’s Daultabad gas field will run 145-km in the host country, 735-km in Afghanistan and 555-km in Pakistan to Multan under the preferred southern route i.e. via Herat and Kandahar.

Pakistan had planned, under its 30-year energy security plan, to start work on the project in 2007 and complete it in 2011. But the target was missed.

The project is now been envisaged to be completed by 2018.

Meanwhile, the federal minister in a meeting with Iranian Ambassador Mashallah Shakari said Pakistan was vigorously pursuing both the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) and the Tapi projects to meet its growing energy needs and reduce dependence on furnace oil.

Referring to the economic and political importance of the IPI project for the region, Khawaja Asif said that its early implementation would strengthen and expand economic and trade relations among the countries in the region.

He welcomed India’s participation in the project and assured that all possible transit facilities would be provided for the Iranian gas to India through Pakistan.