LAHORE: The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipelinegroundbreaking ceremony has been postponed for a few months due to delay inexecution of civil work that was set to be concluded by end of December2017.
Keeping in context the incumbent government’s tenure is set to end on May 31st, those linked with the project are keen to get the groundbreakingceremony conducted during the interim government’s time, said a seniorofficial of Inter-State Gas Systems (ISGS), reported *Dawn.*
The official stated they were interested in performing the groundbreakingof their side of the project in the current month as Prime Minister ShahidKhaqan Abbasi had also expressed his keenness.
However, he added halting the groundbreaking ceremony was decided upon andwould be carried out during the interim government’s tenure.
The official declining to be named said this decision had been taken toavoid any unforeseen impression that the current government was doing thisduring its last days.
Previously, the groundbreaking ceremony on Pakistan’s side was set to beheld in December 2017, but the work couldn’t be commenced because ofseveral reasons including non-completion of some preparatory works, route,geotechnical, radar survey.
However, Afghanistan conducted its part of the groundbreaking ceremony andcommenced the civil work two months before.
The official reiterated they were not behind schedule as a geotechnicalreport, radar and aerial topographic surveys were almost complete.
He shared the project experts and contractor had been deployed to thegroundbreaking sites of Chaman and Quetta in Balochistan and were carryingout work.
The ISGS official said they were fully prepared for the groundbreaking andstarting the civil work from their side and there was no problem regardingthe provision of funds for this project.
As per the real schedule, the groundbreaking ceremony was to be held inFebruary or March and hereafter the initiating of the civil work was to bedone in April.