The Federal Cabinet, in a recent decision, green lit the commencement of work on the 80km stretch of the Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline project, from the Iranian border to Gwadar. This approval was granted through a circulation process initiated by the Cabinet Secretariat following discussions at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE).
The Cabinet Committee on Energy, in its deliberations, reviewed five agenda items and made necessary decisions, which were then forwarded to the Federal Cabinet for ratification. Notably, the Cabinet Committee on Energy had previously endorsed the initiation of work on the 80km segment of the pipeline project, deferring the application for a waiver of US sanctions due to geopolitical concerns.
Under the guidance of the Ministerial Oversight Committee (MOC) for the IP Project, it was recommended to kick off construction on the 80km section within Pakistan, starting from the border with Iran to Gwadar. This crucial phase of the project, to be executed by Inter State Gas Systems (Pvt) Ltd, is estimated to cost $158 million, with funding sourced from the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC).
In May 2009, the agreement for the Project was signed, for supply of gas of 750 MMCFD for 25 years from South Pars gas field of Iran and delivery at Pak-lran border. Under the project 1931km line will be laid for transportation of Iranian gas to Pakistan, including 1,150 km long pipeline within Iran and 781 km within Pakistan.
