Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran will not grant a fine exemption to Pakistan regarding the Iran-Pakistan gas project, Hamidreza Araqi, Director of National Iranian Gas Company, said, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on June 9.
Pakistani media have recently claimed that Tehran has agreed to grant an exemption to Islamabad regarding the imposition of fine of $3 million per day and extend the deadline on the IP project.
Iran has also dismissed reports on its agreement to extending the completion of the project's deadline from December 2014 to December 2015.
On May 30, Iran's deputy oil minister for international affairs and trade, Ali Majedi said that the deadline has not changed, contrary to some reports that "senior Pakistani petroleum ministry officials" claimed Tehran and Islamabad have extended the deadline for one year.
The Iranian-Pakistani gas pipeline is projected to cost $1.2-1.5 billion and would enable the export of 21.5 million cubic meters of Iranian natural gas to Pakistan on a daily basis.
Iran has already built 900 kilometres of the pipeline on its own soil and is waiting for the 700-kilometre Pakistani side to be constructed.
However, Pakistan has made little progress on fulfilling its obligations, largely due to lack of sufficient funds, and the pressure from the U.S. to drop it.
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