Pakistan, Russia ink agreement for construction of Lahore-Karachi gas pipeline

ISLAMABAD (Staff Report) -Pakistan and Russia on Friday signed an Agreement on laying a 1100-kilometre-long pipeline from Karachi to Lahore with a Russian investment of $2 billion.

The Agreement on 'Cooperation for the development of North- South Gas Pipeline' was inked by Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Russia's Minister for Energy Alexander Novak here at the PM House.
Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif witnessed the signing ceremony. Under the inter-governmental agreement, the Russian Federation through its state corporation RT-Global Resource will collaborate with Pakistan's Inter-State Gas System (Pvt.) Ltd for the laying of pipeline.

Minister for Petroleum Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told that the project was of great significance for Pakistan as it will help carry the additional volume of imported gas from the country's South to rest of the country.

He said the pipeline would develop a proper mechanism for the transportation of gas from South to other parts of country, for which no system existed at present.

He said the North-South pipeline project was part of the government's vision to fulfill the country's energy needs on priority basis.

He said China was also expected to collaborate in execution of the gas pipeline project, which will be completed in 30 months.

The project will be capable of transporting 1.2 billion cubic feet of gas from Karachi to Lahore by laying 42 inch diametre pipeline.

The first phase is expected to be completed by December 2017. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had approved the North-South Gas Pipeline Project under government-to-government agreement in January 2015. The draft inter-government agreement was approved by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in July 2015.

The ECC had designated Inter-State Gas System (Pvt) Ltd as the executing agency to implement the project in liaison with Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL).