Tri-nation Gas Pipeline Likely to Be Abandoned

The proposed gas pipeline project that would supply natural gas from Myanmar to India via Bangladesh will most likely be abandoned due to Yangon’s lack of response on the matter in recent years.

The project has become obsolete, as Bangladesh and India could not place so far any concrete proposal to Myanmar, Financial Express Bangladesh reported.

The initial lack of convergence between the energy policies of India and Bangladesh enabled China to successfully implement a gas (and oil) pipeline project with Myanmar, the report in the newspaper said.

China struck a deal to buy gas from Myanmar when the latter had earlier shown its interest in negotiating separate pipe-line projects simultaneously with Bangladesh and India in 2004.

The two countries signed a deal for a 800-km duel gas and oil pipeline project to sell gas to China, which needs large-scale import of natural gas to meet its domestic demand.

The pipelines connect Kyaukryu port on the west coast of Myanmar and the capital of Yunnan province of China.

The construction of the China-Myanmar gas and oil pipelines began in the middle of 2010, and is scheduled to be completed by April next year.