Nothing can stop Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline

Pakistan Ambassador to Tehran says nothing can prevent the progress of the multi-billion-dollar Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project.

According to IRIB, Khalid Aziz Babar said on Wednesday that based on an agreement signed between the two parties, the gas pipeline must be completed by December 2014 and after its completion, gas transfer from Iran to Pakistan will start.
On January 29, an Iranian deputy oil minister said Tehran would finance and help build the 700-kilometer tranche of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline on the Pakistani side.
Javad Owji, who is also managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company, said “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.”
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.
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.
Iran has already built more than 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its soil.