Trilateral meet on IPI pipeline likely next month in Tehran

New Delhi, June 23 (UNI) The trilateral meeting on 7.5 billion dollar Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline is likely to be held in Tehran next month to take forward the transnational project.

''India, Pakistan and Iran on transnational pipeline project will meet in Tehran likely next month,'' Petroleum Secretary M S Srinivasan told reporters on the sidelines of a conference here.

He said the bilateral issues with Pakistan have more or less been resolved.

Iran had said the delivery point for the gas would be at the Iran-Pakistan border, the Secretary said, adding the India wants it to be shifted to the India-Pakistan border.

''In our bilateral with Pakistan on April 24, Pakistan said they have no problem with our stand and they will also attend the trilateral meeting and they will help us,'' he said.

Mr Srinivasan said sorting out the delivery point is one of the issues to be discussed in the coming trilateral meet.

Work on the pipeline will begin next year and is expected to be completed by 2012.

Initially, the pipeline would transport 60 million cubic metres of gas daily to Pakistan and India, half for each country, which would later be increased to 150 million cubic metres.

The project, which was first mooted in 1994, has been stalled by a series of disputes over prices and transit fees.

After a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Gholam Hosein Nozari at the Energy Ministers' Meeting in Jeddah yesterday, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said, ''there were also some issues with Pakistan that has been taken care of.'' UNI SBA SG RK1500