ISLAMABAD: Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has told the Senate that no international institution or bank was ready to extend a grant for the Pakistan-Iran Gas Pipeline Project (PIGPP) as long as sanctions were in place against Iran.

He said that the project could be completed following the lifting of sanctions on Iran. “No international institution or bank is ready to invest in the project till the lifting of sanctions on Iran,” he told Senate on Friday.  The minister, however, said that the Gawadar to Nawab Shah portion of the pipeline will be completed by December 2017, which was the key component of the project.

He said that $100 million would be spent on laying the 80-kilometre pipeline from Iran to the Gwadar border.

“Work on 700 kilometer long Gawadar-Nawab Shah pipeline will soon be started under Pakistan-China Economic Corridor project,” he added.