The construction of the pipeline, which stretches from the border between the two countries to Navabshah region in Pakistan and covers 781 kilometers (km) of the total 1,881-km length of the pipeline was started on Wednesday.
Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi arrived in Pakistan yesterday to discuss the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline with Pakistani officials.
After the negotiations, Iranian and Pakistani officials agreed to provide security for the pipeline and that the consortium would complete the process of constructing the pipeline in 15 months.
The pipeline, projected to cost about USD1.2-1.5 billion, would enable the export of 21.5 million cubic meters of Iran’s natural gas to Pakistan on a daily basis.
On January 29, an Iranian deputy oil minister said Tehran would finance and help build the 700-kilometer tranche of the IP gas pipeline on the Pakistani side.
“Aside from a 250-million-dollar loan, Iran will also provide the supplies and equipment necessary for the construction of the part of the pipeline on Pakistani soil,” Javad Owji, who is also managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company, said.
This is while Pakistan has constantly dismissed rumors that it might pull out of the project amid efforts by the United States to convince the country to abandon the pipeline.
Iran has already built more than 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its soil.
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