Afghanistan said Wednesday work would begin on a $10 billion gas pipeline traversing South Asia as officials joined dignitaries in neighboring Turkmenistan to celebrate its completion on that side of the border.
Progress on the TAPI pipeline -- running through Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India -- has been repeatedly delayed because of security issues in conflict-ravaged Afghanistan.
"From today the operations will start on Afghanistan's soil," Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in comments broadcast by Afghan state television.
At the border ceremony in Islim Cheshma in Turkmenistan, officials on both sides, including Afghan Prime Minister Hassan Akhund, hailed the project.
"This project will benefit not only the economies of the countries participating but also the countries of the whole region," the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedow said in a video broadcast live at the ceremony.
However, experts warned that the project -- which is still not fully funded -- is unlikely to be operational for another decade.