In September 2024, a ceremonial laying of the Turkmen-Afghan gas pipeline TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) took place in Turkmenistan. However, reports soon emerged that the event was staged. Sources claim that immediately after the ceremony, the pipes that were symbolically used at the event were taken back, and the workers involved in demonstrating the construction work were sent home. Information about this appeared on the Internet.
It is reported that about a thousand people were gathered specifically to create the appearance of the start of construction, although real work on site never began.
The TAPI project was launched back in 2015, but its implementation has been repeatedly postponed due to the unstable situation in Afghanistan and economic difficulties in Turkmenistan. Despite the Turkmen government’s promises that the pipeline will generate significant revenues and create jobs, progress on the project has been slow. The ceremony, attended by senior officials from Turkmenistan and the Taliban-controlled government in Afghanistan, was more of a political gesture than a real step forward.
TAPI remains important for Turkmenistan as a way to diversify its gas exports, but political and economic problems make its completion highly uncertain. For many observers, the staged ceremony was yet another example of the problems with major infrastructure projects in the region.
