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| Work on Pakistan section of IP gas pipeline to begin on Monday |
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.jpg) TEHRAN – The construction of the Pakistan section of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline will officially begin on March 11, Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi announced on Wednesday.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will attend the inauguration ceremony for the construction operations, the Mehr News Agency quoted Qasemi as saying.
The pipeline construction work will be carried out by an Iranian company -- Tadbir Energy Gostar -- which has not been sanctioned by any foreign government. The first gas flow will be available to Pakistan by the end of December 2014, according to the Pakistani daily The News.
Pakistan has brushed off the mounting U.S. pressure to cancel its $7.5 billion gas pipeline project with Iran and has made it clear to the United States that it will complete the venture come what may, even at the cost of U.S. sanctions, because the project is an essential component necessary for the country to meet its energy requirements.
In 2010, the two countries reached an agreement, according to which Iran would supply Pakistan between 750 million cubic feet (21 million cubic meters) and one billion cubic feet per day of gas by mid-2015.
Iran has already completed a 900-kilometer section of the 56-inch diameter pipeline on its territory, and the remaining 200 kilometers up to the Pakistani border is expected to be completed in the next two years.
MG/HG
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