South Asia Monitor: Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline: Implications for India

The Pakistani President and his Iranian counterpart Dr Ahmadinejad on 11 March performed the groundbreaking of the long-awaited $7.5 billion Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project at Gabd on the Pakistan-Iran border and in the process laid the foundation of bilateral energy cooperation opposed by the US. They also unveiled a plaque of the project and saw welding together of two pieces of pipeline painted with flags of the two countries. Earlier the Pakistani delegation had flown in three planes to Chabahar about 200km from Gabd. “The Iran-Pakistan ‘gaslifeline’ will help eradicate terrorism, bring prosperity to the region and overcome poverty,” President Zardari said after the ceremony.

The IP pipeline will deliver 750 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd) to Pakistan by January 2015. Agreements for opening two more border crossings (Gabd and Pasni) and setting up a $4 billion oil refinery with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) at Gwadar were also said to be signed after the ceremony. It is estimated that the pipeline project on completion will contribute about five per cent to Pakistan’s GDP and create 10,000 jobs during construction and about 3,000 after completion. MORE