Operational Research in Engineering Sciences

Journal DOI: https://doi.org/10.31181/oresta190101s

(A Journal of Management and Engineering) ISSN 2620-1607 | ISSN 2620-1747 |

Regional development through energy infrastructure: A comparison and optimization of Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) & Turkmenistan- Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipelines

Yousaf Ali,
School of Management Sciences, GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi, Swabi, KP, Pakistan
Manzoor Ahmad,
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi, Swabi, Pakistan
Muhammad Sabir,
NUST Business School (NBS), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan
Sajjad Ali Shah,
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi, Swabi, Pakistan

Abstract

Pakistan is working on two pipeline projects, namely, Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipelines, to meet its energy supply-demand gap. This study's aims to compare these two projects and identify the most suitable option for Pakistan. Furthermore, as the TAPI project is progressing faster than the IPI project, this study also aims to identify the critical activities associated with TAPI projects. Finally, a model is proposed to optimize the material and transportation costs related to the TAPI project. The study's contribution by using fuzzy set theory-based multi-criteria decision-making (Fuzzy MCDM) to compare two projects along with usage of the Fuzzy Critical Path Method (FCPM) for the identification of critical activities associated with the TAPI project. Finally, the Genetic Algorithm is applied to optimize the material and transportation costs of the TAPI project. The results show that IPI has advantages over TAPI in terms of power generation, transportation cost, transits fee, and gas prices. The critical path analysis of the TAPI gas pipeline shows that it will take approximately 75 to 330.5 weeks to complete.  The study is useful for the managers who have to work in these projects, the policymakers considering these projects at various levels, and the researcher having an interest in applying Fuzzy set theory with MCDM, CPM, and in the context of the energy infrastructure.

Keywords
Optimization models, Fuzzy TOPSIS, Fuzzy CPM, Genetic Algorithm, MCDM, TAPI, IPI, Pipelines.

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SCImago Journal & Country Rank

CiteScore for Management Science and Operations Research

8.1
2021CiteScore
 
 
89th percentile
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CiteScore for Engineering (miscellaneous)

8.1
2021CiteScore
 
 
93rd percentile
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