The Hindu Business Line : Gas pipeline project to be made safe of all risks, says Aiyar

THE Petroleum Minister, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, on Friday said that the negotiations for the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project are going on as per schedule. The whole exercise is to make the project safe from all risks, he said.

While endorsing the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh's views on the pipeline project, Mr Aiyar said the concerns raised by India are part of the joint statement, issued at the conclusion of his visit to Islamabad last month.

"The statement said that all countries will lay world-class safe and secure pipeline. All issues were specially looked by the working group, which met in New Delhi early this month," Mr Aiyar told presspersons here on Friday, when asked about his views on the Prime Minister's statement.

Mr Aiyar said that all concerns would be addressed using technological advancement as was done in the Baku-Turkey pipeline, which was passing through most difficult areas.

He said all programmes of the working group were on and would take place as per schedule.

The next meeting of the working group will be held in Islamabad, where they will discuss the pipeline projects in further detail.

The Prime Minister during his US visit said that the project was fraught with risks and expressed doubts, if any international consortium of bankers would underwrite the project.

Mr Aiyar said the technical, financial, commercial and legal agreements of the pipeline would have safety and security dimension worked into the project structure.

``Negotiations are on schedule that we had laid. We are working towards that,'' he said.

Earlier today, the Petroleum Minister ruled out shifting BPCL's proposed 6 million tonne refinery in Bina, Madhya Pradesh.

Putting to rest all rumours about transferring the project from Madhya Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh, he said, the refinery in Uttar Pradesh would come up only after the Bina project is implemented.

"A misgiving is being created that we want to scrap the Bina refinery and put up a new refinery in Uttar Pradesh.

"I would like to clarify that the Bina refinery would be built as planned and we will think about a refinery in Uttar Pradesh only after that," he said, after a meeting with the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Babulal Gaur, here on Friday.

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