Pakistan urges government to complete Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline

Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has called on the Islamabad government to ensure the completion of the multi-billion-dollar Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline, which is currently under construction from Iran to Pakistan.

IP pipeline specification

The IP gas pipeline will export 21.5 million m³/d of Iranian natural gas to Pakistan. Iran has already built 900 km of the pipeline on its soil and is helping to build the 700 km part of the pipeline on the Pakistani side.

The IP pipeline is designed to help Pakistan to overcome its growing energy needs at a time when the country of over 180 million people is grappling with serious energy shortages.

Helping to overcome energy shortages

In a statement on Monday 8^th July, PIAF Chairman Malik Tahir Javed said implementation of the project before 2014 would greatly help Pakistan overcome its energy shortages.

It would also supply natural gas to the Pakistani manufacturing and industrial sectors, which would, in turn, improve the country’s industrial competitiveness in the international market, he further noted.

The PIAF chairman also stated that serious energy crises had severely affected Pakistan’s industrial units, forcing many to shut down and leaving millions of workers jobless.

Tahir Javed stated that the IP gas pipeline would also save huge sums currently spent on the import of fuel oil for power generation.

He called on Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to withstand any pressure on the project, and adopt proper measures to ensure the completion of the pipeline.

Construction timetable

The final construction phase of the pipeline was inaugurated by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Pakistani counterpart, Asif Ali Zardari, on 11^th March.

The pipeline would not only mark a new chapter in the history of Pakistani-Iranian bilateral relations but would also help bring dream of industrial revolution into reality, Tahir Javed said.

Originally conceived as IPI pipeline

The 2700 km long pipeline was originally intended to supply gas for Pakistan and India, but India has evaded talks.

In 2011, Iran and Pakistan declared they would finalise the agreement bilaterally, without Indian participation.

According to the project proposal, the pipeline will begin from Iran's Assalouyeh Energy Zone in the South and stretch over 1100 km through Iran. In Pakistan, it will pass through Baluchistan and Sindh but officials now say the route may be changed if China agrees to co-operate with the project.

Edited from various sources by Elizabeth Corner.

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