Chinese Firm Pulls Out of IP Pipeline Project

A Chinese firm, Panyn Chu King Steel Limited, which offered financing of $500 million for Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline has pulled out of the project after Pakistan government expressed its unwillingness to extend the bid validity period.

“After the Chinese firm’s exit from the project, the government is now banking on Iran to fully fund the laying of Pakistan’s portion of the pipeline,” a source told The Express Tribune.

According to sources, transition of power in both Pakistan and Iran in recent months has delayed engagements between the two sides, which have to discuss the crucial financing issue for the project, the newspaper reported.

Panyn Chu King Steel Limited, which has pulled out, had been selected during bidding by Interstate Gas Systems (ISGS) as a qualified bidder, which would provide the pipeline at $1,650 per ton including compressors.