Construction could begin in 2004 on a natural gas pipeline project long deferred by instability in war-torn Afghanistan.

Pakistani Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Afghani President Hamid Karzai and Turkmenistan's President Suparmurat Niyazov Dec 26 are scheduled to sign an agreement that would pave the way for the start of construction in 2004 on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan natural gas pipeline. "We are still in discussion with the Asian Development Bank and various multilateral lending agencies to decide whether to extend the pipeline route to India," an official at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources in Islamabad, Pakistan, said Monday. The ADB has already agreed to allocate a $1-mil loan for the project. The 1,700-km pipeline will move 20-bil cu m/year (706-bil cu ft) of natural gas from Turkmenistan's Dauletabad fields via Afghanistan to Pakistan.

The $2.5-bil project is likely to be completed in four years, the ministry official said. "The project will provide cheaper and cleaner energy to consumers in the south and central Asian regions, and will also have a significant impact on enhancing stability and improving living standards," he added. The ADB-backed feasibility study for the pipeline is expected to be completed by August 2003, the official said.