Iran Vows to Finish Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline by 2014

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed to complete a mutli-billion dollar gas pipeline to Pakistan on time, downplaying financial woes and U.S. pressure on Islamabad to scrap the project, AFP has reported.

Pakistan and Iran signed a deal in 2010 under which Tehran would supply gas to its eastern neighbour from 2014, with sales to reach up to one billion cubic feet (28 million cubic meters) per day by mid-2015.

The pipeline will have a length of 900 km and will stretch from Assaluyeh in southern Iran to the border with Pakistan. Another 800 kilometers pipeline was also needed inside Pakistan to receive gas from Iran’s South Pars field in the Gulf.

“We want to complete this project by 2014,” Ahmadinejad told a press conference in Islamabad, AFP reported. He added that work on Iranian side is complete while on Pakistan side the work will be completed soon.

Ahmadinejad also brushed off U.S. pressure on the gas supply project to Pakistan.