China To Back Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline Project: Daily

Islamabad, June 10, IRNA – Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was successful in convincing the Chinese leadership during his recent visit to China to take part in the bidding for the construction of Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project, a report said Saturday. After getting China’s backing, the government had extended the deadline for the prequalification of the engineering, procurement, construction (EPC) and commissioning of the 785km-long pipeline from June 8 to June 22, Pakistan Today newspaper reported. Quoting an unnamed official, the daily reported that a leading Chinese firm was likely to participate in the construction of the IP pipeline. He said it was a big achievement, as China’s participation in the project would ensure its safety, adding that Iran had already assured Pakistan of providing all the financial and technical assistance, including equipment and compressors, for the commissioning of the pipeline. The cost of the project on the Pakistani side is estimated at $1.2 billion. The 42-inch diameter gas pipeline will be transporting high pressure one billion cubic feet gas per day (bcfd) from an off-take point near Gwadar in Balochistan to gas integration point near Nawabshah in Sindh province. The country is faced with a gas shortage of 2bcfd, which is estimated to increase to 6bcfd in the next five years if new discoveries are not made or gas is not imported. The government has already decided to dedicate the imported gas through the IP pipeline for the power sector as power shortage is projected to increase over 11,000MW in the next few years. The government is working to starting process for setting up new Independent Power Producers (IPPs) of 5,000MW cumulative capacity so that they should be ready for commissioning by the time natural gas starts flowing from the IP pipeline in December 2014./end