Progress for trans-Afghanistan pipeline as India signs up

INDIA formally joined the long-planned Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan natural gas pipeline project in April, which plans to carry gas over 1,680 km from Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. The pipeline, now called the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (Tapi) gas pipeline, has been on the drawing board for over 10 years, but although the addition of India makes the project much more economically viable, few analysts expect the pipeline to be built any time soon. A significant barrier is continued fighting in Afghanistan, which shows few signs of abating. At one point in 1997, both the US and the Taliban were promoting the pipeline and there is memorable footage in Michael Moore'