Iran hopes to finalise IPI deal soon

New Delhi: Tehran hopes to finalise a gas pipeline deal with India and Pakistan by mid-year, Iran’s ambassador to New Delhi said in an interview.

The $7.5 billion project aims to transport natural gas from Iranian oilfields to Pakistan and India. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad discussed the project with Indian authorities during his visit to New Delhi in April.

“It is hoped the trilateral agreement will be signed by the middle of summer this year,” Ambassador Sayed Mahdi Nabizadeh was quoted as saying in India’s Hardnews magazine.

The project was first mooted in 1994, but has been stalled by a series of disputes over prices and transit fees. “After the president’s recent visits to India and Pakistan, we have witnessed positive progress regarding implementation,” the envoy said. Indian and Pakistani energy ministers met in Islamabad last month and said they had made “significant progress” in discussions on transit fees.

They were hopeful that work on the project could start next year. Also last month, Iran and Pakistan said they had ironed out hurdles delaying the 2,600-kilometre scheme.

India has been under pressure from the United States not to do business with Iran, which is viewed in Washington as a state sponsor of terrorism and seen as bent on acquiring nuclear weapons.

“This project will be the biggest economic project based on energy in the Asian region and these three important countries (India, Pakistan and Iran) will be united with each other and their economic interests will be tied up with each other,” Nabizadeh said.