Pakistani Mission Due in Iran to Discuss IP Gas Project: Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A high profile Pakistani delegation is slated to visit Tehran in the near future to discuss the completion of the much-awaited Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project, a Pakistani official said.
An unknown source in Pakistan’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources announced on Monday that a high-ranking delegation from the South Asian country will visit Tehran soon in a bid to discuss the IP project, which has been left abandoned by Islamabad, Pakistan Today reported.
The visit will come after Iran’s Oil Ministry wrote an official letter to the ministry, calling on Islamabad to come up with a comprehensive strategy for initiating the mega project as soon as possible, the source added.
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.
The final construction phase of the IP pipeline was inaugurated on March 11, 2013. Iran has already built 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its soil.
Pakistan, however, has fallen short of constructing the 700-kilometer part of the pipeline on its territory.
According to the deal, if any of the parties does not fulfill its obligation to complete the pipeline on its side by the end of 2014, it has to pay a daily penalty of $3 million to the other side until completion.