Pakistani, Turkmen, Afghan leaders to sign $3.2 billion pipeline deal

Associated Press ^ | 12-26-02 | BAGILA BUKHARBAYEVA

[Oldeconomybuyer]

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) -- Leaders from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan met Thursday to work out the final details of an ambitious deal to build a gas pipeline through war-ravaged Afghanistan.

The long-delayed $3.2-billion natural gas pipeline, known as the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, would carry gas from energy-rich Turkmenistan to Pakistan. It would be one of the first major investment projects in Afghanistan in decades.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

This item will be in the radical anti-war leftists talking points within the hour ...

[big gray tabby]

Yes, and let's not forget that it's a bad thing. Of course no lefty will notice that Unocal is out of the picture, either.

[gubamyster]

The project promises to give an economic boost to Afghanistan but lacks solid financial backing.

Lack of funding is the same problem we had & the reason our project did not go forward.

[gubamyster]

The pipeline was originally launched in 1997 by a consortium led by U.S. energy giant Unocal Corp. but abandoned after the United States fired cruise missiles into Afghanistan in 1998 in pursuit of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

This is not true, or at least tries to insinuate that Unocal left due to the cruise missile attack. The missiles were sent on August 20, 1998. Plans to shut down the project & close the Ashgabat office were made by Unocal in the spring/summer of 1998. As a matter of fact the resident (in-country) manager was sent to Baku & July & was “running” both offices from July to year-end 1998. I was sent home Aug 1, 1998 and only a skeleton staff of a couple local Turkmen remained until our contract & lease ran out at the end of 1998 when the office was closed.

[txhurl]

Thanks, I always wondered what happened with that.

[Shermy]

Thanks for the ping.

My recollection is that this pipeline "plan" is for a line to Gwadar on the Arabian Sea for export, presumably to Japan/China. Not the so-called "UNOCAL" plan to central Pak for domestic use there, though I suppose all sorts of plans floated around.

[Shermy]

People's Daily, Dec. 27.

China Provides Loans for Pakistani Port Project

The Chinese government will offer preferential loan to support the building of Pakistan's Gwadar deepwater port.

Yang Zilin, president of the Export and Import Bank of China (Eximbank), and Pakistani Ambassador in China Riaz Mohammad Khan signed a related agreement in Beijing Thursday.

According to the agreement, the 481.4 million yuan (58.21 million US dollars) of preferential loan will be used to support the first-phase construction of the port.

A spokesman for the Eximbank said the predicted investment in the first phase of construction is 248 million US dollars, of which 198 million will come from China.

The first-phase construction will last three years, during which three multi-purpose berths will be built.

So far, the Eximbank has provided financial support for over 90projects in more than 40 developing countries, the spokesman said.

__________________________

Assuming this is partly at least for the natural gas, I think it good for the region that China has a money stake in it, keeping the energy flowing, ending dependence on Saudi, et al.

[marron]

, I think it good for the region that China has a money stake in it, keeping the energy flowing, ending dependence on Saudi, et al.

I agree with your analysis.

[swarthyguy]

>>deepwater port.

>>multi-purpose berths

And the Chinese Navy gets a base on the entrance to the Persian Gulf.