With India/US nuclear deal in difficulty, the Iran-Pakistan-India project might go ahead afterall?
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LONDON, October 30 (IranMania) - Pakistan said that it would go ahead with the multi-bln Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project, IRNA reported.
Pakistan statement came amidst reports that the United States expected India would not move forward with the IPI gas pipeline as Washington has imposed more sanctions on Iran.
“We are committed to Iran-Pakistan-India project and we will be going ahead with this project,” Foreign Office spokesman Muhamamd Sadiq told the weekly press briefing.
“This is the requirement of Pakistan and we will take decision in our national interest,” he said.
The spokesman opposed American curbs on the Islamic republic and said, “As far as the US sanctions against Iran are concerned, we believe that sanction is not a solution to any problem”.
Senior officials of Pakistan and Iran recently met and held talks on the 2,700-km pipeline project that is expected to be completed in three years at a cost of $ 7 bln.
The pipeline will initially carry around 60 mln cubic meters of gas per day.
At the meeting, Iran and Pakistan said they would press ahead with the pipeline project even without India’s participation.
Islamabad is seeking $ 0.493 per MMBtu as transit fee while India has offered $ 0.20 per MMBtu.