Originally envisaged as a pipeline connecting gas-rich Turkmenistan to Pakistan via Afghanistan in the 1990s, construction was to have been begun with the help of Unocal Corp but for the US missile attacks on Afghanistan in 1998.

However, since the fall of the Islamic Taliban government, the project has been mooted as a means to ensure regional stability and a way for Central Asia to export its energy resources whilst bypassing Russia. ABD is confident that the pipeline is a necessity for the region.

Najeeb Jung, ADB's head of the energy division (South Asia department), believes that "the strong economics of the pipeline and the considerable benefits that will be derived from it will continue to drive the project forward."