Daily Times

Pakistani Ambassador to Russia Shafqat Ali Khan has said that construction work on the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline project is expected to start in the near future after several rounds of consultations.

“After many years of negotiations, [Moscow and Islamabad] have finally signed an agreement and since then there has been significant progress, we’ve held several rounds of technical consultations, including financial issues,” the ambassador said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

“As soon as the final details are agreed, we expect the start of construction. I think it will have a significant impact for future investments (in Pakistan) … I cannot disclose details… we are very optimistic,” he added.

In late May, the two countries signed a deal on building a major gas pipeline linking Karachi and Gwadar to power plants and industrial hubs in Punjab. Spanning over 683 miles (1,100 kilometres), the pipeline, dubbed ‘Pakistan Stream,’ is expected to have a discharge capacity of up to 12.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.

Under the terms of the agreement, Pakistan would reportedly hold a 74 percent stake in the pipeline operator while Russia would own the remaining 26 percent. The initial deal to build the pipeline was clinched back in 2015.

The project is expected to become the largest infrastructure deal between the two nations since the early 1970s, when the then Soviet Union built the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) at Port Qasim near Karachi.