August 13, 2002	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Saani 3, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 12: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has offered to fund the $3 billion gas pipeline project from Turkmenistan to Pakistan via Afghanistan.

“We have made available $1.5 million for conducting the feasibility study of the Turkmenistan gas project. It will be further discussed by the ADB’s Executive Board which is due to meet in Manila on Sept 20,” said ADB Country Director for Pakistan, Mr Marshuk Ali Shah.

Speaking at a news conference here on Monday, he said that the ADB had moved rapidly to express its willingness for managing resources for the gas project.

Now when the ADB is ready to offer funding for this project the senior officials of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources do not think that the laying of gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan via Afghanistan is a feasible project.

When contacted by Dawn they said that unless the situation in Afghanistan was fully normalised, there was no hope of gas pipeline project from Turkmenistan being undertaken.

Nevertheless, they said that laying of gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan seemed a viable project which could also be extended to India.

Officials expressed the hope that various political issues linked with this project will soon be overcome. They said the Russian gas company, Gazprom, was interested in investing in this project because of its being feasible.

“Once the gas pipeline project from Iran was finalised and agreed, Pakistan could get about $300 million to $400 million annual royalty from India,” an official said.

Similarly, he said that laying of gas pipeline from Qatar to Pakistan was also a possibility. “But Iran’s project is more feasible and could be taken up shortly which will cost about $3 billion,” he added.