REGION
Pipeline ahoy!
Sanctions are not supposed to work this way. After seemingly endless stops and starts, India, Pakistan and Iran decided during the second week of March to begin construction on the long-discussed gas pipeline between the three countries – and on a strict deadline, too. Ironically, it was the threat of possible future US sanctions against oil companies involved with Tehran that ultimately pushed through the agreement. Construction is now slated to begin no later than September 2009.
Each country will be responsible to lay pipes in its own territory – a project that Iran has already begun, and now needs only to extend another 200 km to its eastern border. Pakistani officials say that they will be appointing private-sector contractors to put down the 655 km of pipe in Pakistani territory immediately after purchase agreements are signed in June.
The total estimated pipeline costs for each country are: Iran, USD 4.0 billion; Pakistan, USD 2.6 billion; India USD 600 million. At the moment, involved officials are very tentatively putting an end date for the project at around mid-2014. Better late than never, it seems the Iranian gas will flow, to energise the Southasian economy and politically stabilise the region.