Pakistan, Russia in gas pipeline talks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and Russian experts are in the process of holding negotiations on Build-Operate-Own-Transfer (BOOT) agreement to build an 1,100km gas pipeline for which the two countries had signed an intergovernmental accord two years ago, sources said on Tuesday.

The project, costing around $2 billion, is facing delay due to some international sanctions on Russian company RT-Global Resources. The actual construction on the pipeline will start after finalisation of the contractual arrangement. Currently, the parties are negotiating the BOOT agreement. The gas pipeline will be built in Lahore-to-Lahore in the first phase.

Pakistan had already communicated that any structure / arrangement needs to be sanctions free, the sources told APP. The matter of US sanctions on the company was discussed with the Russian authorities, while the proposed solution by the Russian side was under evaluation by the ministries of energy and law, they added.