IP project would help Pakistan economy: Pakistan official

A Pakistani trade association official has stressed the importance of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, stating that the project would help Pakistan to improve its economy and lower the unemployment rate.

On Thursday, Chairman of Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) Malik Tahir Javaid said the business community cannot understand why the Islamabad government is reluctant to pursue the project.

If work on the IP (Iran-Pakistan) gas pipeline project had started according to schedule, the energy situation in Pakistan would have been quite different, he added.

The PIAF chairman also attributed the drop in foreign direct investment to the energy shortage in Pakistan, highlighting that the situation can be brought under control through the implementation of projects like the IP pipeline.

The government of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has made it clear that addressing the country’s longstanding energy problems will be its top priority, and it has no plans to reverse the decision on the completion of IP pipeline.

The two countries are responsible for the completion of the pipeline project within their territories, and if Pakistan does not fulfill its obligation to complete the pipeline on its side by the end of 2014, it will have to pay a daily penalty of USD 1 million to Iran until completion.

Iran has already built 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its soil and is waiting for the 700-kilometer tranche on Pakistani side of the pipeline to be constructed.

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