TAPI pipeline new silk road?

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- A natural gas pipeline stretching from Turkmenistan to India will usher in a new era of Asian solidarity, the Indian petroleum minister said.

Afghan, Pakistani, Indian and Turkmen delegates gathered in Ashgabat to take part in a conference to advance a multinational natural gas pipeline.

The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistani-India pipeline, dubbed by New Delhi as a new "silk road," will transport natural gas from Turkmenistan's Dauletabad gas field.

Indian Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said the TAPI accord was the "harbinger of economic growth and prosperity" for partners in Central Asia, Indian newspaper The Hindu reports.

"India strongly believes in regional cooperation and this pipeline will be a testament to regional cooperation and solidarity," he was quoted as saying.

New Delhi, however, said it still has concerns over the price of gas transmitted through the pipeline.

"Without doubt, pricing of gas is one of the most important issues," Deora was quoted as saying. "It needs to be appreciated that Turkmen gas would have to compete with other forms of gas in the markets of the buyer countries, including indigenous gas."

The project is seen as a rival to a similar pipeline from Iran's South Pars gas field. The planned 1,043-mile pipeline will deliver 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas per year to Pakistan and India. Afghanistan gets the remaining 700 million cf planned for the pipeline.