Afghanistan’s Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Ataullah Omari met with Muhammetmyrat Amanov, CEO of TAPI Pipeline Company Limited, and Turkmenistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan Hoja Ovezov to discuss the process of acquiring land along the route of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Gas Pipeline (TAPI) in Afghanistan.

Amanov presented information on the progress of the project and urged the Afghan side to accelerate procedures for allocating land, according to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock.

Omari said the cost of land leases will be determined in accordance with the country’s current legislation. Land valuation is currently underway to set tariffs for private, personal and state-owned properties.

A significant portion of the pipeline route runs through Afghanistan. The country’s Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock plays a coordinating technical role in assessing, verifying and acquiring land plots required for construction of the gas pipeline, the source said.