Turkmenistan's ambassador to Pakistan, Atajan Movlamov, says natural-gas supplies to Afghanistan through the TAPI pipeline could begin in 2027 if construction of the Serhetabat-Herat section is completed as planned by the end of this year.
Pajhwok reported on September 22 that Movlamov gave the timeline at an ambassadors' dinner hosted by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Islamabad, citing information from the Turkmen embassy and regional reporting.
The Serhetabat-Herat section is a strategically important part of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline. According to the ambassador, completing that segment would create the technical conditions needed to begin delivering Turkmen gas to Afghanistan in 2027 and later continue supplies toward Pakistan.
TAPI is designed as an approximately 1,800-kilometre pipeline with planned annual capacity of about 33 billion cubic metres of natural gas.
The project has been discussed for decades and has faced repeated delays linked to financing, security, construction and cross-border coordination.
For that reason, the 2027 start date should be treated as the Turkmen ambassador's current timetable rather than a guaranteed completion date. Actual gas deliveries will depend on construction progress, financing and operational readiness.