File photo shows technicians welding the Iranian end of the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline to its Pakistani section during the inauguration ceremony of the final construction phase of the project.
Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has called on the Islamabad government to ensure the completion of the multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline under construction from Iran to Pakistan.
In a statement on Monday, PIAF Chairman Malik Tahir Javed said implementation of the project before 2014 would greatly help Pakistan overcome its energy shortages.
It would also supply natural gas to the Pakistani manufacturing and industrial sectors, which would in turn, improve the countrys industrial competitiveness in the international market, he further noted.
PIAF chairman also stated that serious energy crisis has severely affected Pakistans industrial units, forcing many to shut down and leaving millions of workers jobless.
Tahir Javed stated that the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline would also save huge sums currently spent on the import of fuel oil for power generation.
He called on Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to withstand any pressure on the project, and adopt proper measures to ensure the completion of the pipeline.
The final construction phase of the pipeline was inaugurated by Irans President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Pakistani counterpart, Asif Ali Zardari, on March 11.
Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline will enable the export of 21.5 million cubic meters (mcm) per day of Iranian natural gas to Pakistan.
Iran has already built 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its soil and is helping to build the 700-kilometer part of the pipeline on the Pakistani side.
The IP pipeline is designed to help Pakistan to overcome its growing energy needs at a time when the country of over 180 million people is grappling with serious energy shortages.
PressTV - Pakistani government urged to finish IP gas pipeline project
