Pakistan approves $2 billion Gwadar project linking its gas network to Iran's

Pakistan has approved the strategically important Gwadar-Nawabshah LNG Terminal and Pipeline Project (GNT&P) at a cost of US $2 billion that will eventually link the country's gas network with the Iranian system.

The mega scheme was sanctioned by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) the country's highest project approval authority along with five other projects, reports the Express Tribune. The ECNEC in total approved six projects costing Rs 281 billion. The approval for pipeline project is said was necessary to negotiate the terms of US $1.4 billion loan that Islamabad is keen to get from Chinese Export-Import (Exim) Bank.

According to officials of the Ministry of Planning and Development, the terms of the loans carries implication for the cost of the project, which is currently estimated at US $2 billion or Rs 203.3 billion.

Reports suggest that in phase-I of the project, the pipeline will follow the coastal pipeline corridor, which was formally established for the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline and phase-II, a 90-kilometre patch will be constructed from Gwadar to Pakistan-Iran border to tie the national network with Iranian system.

The project is expected to be completed in two years (2016-2018) and the key objective of it is to overcome the shortage of natural gas supply by importing LNG at Gwadar.