Wednesday, July 13 2005 15:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: India and Pakistan will appoint financial consultants to suggest project structure for the 4.16 billion dollar Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline by September 15.

The two sides will appoint separate consultants who besides suggesting the project structure would also do a pre-feasibility study of the 2,600 kilometre long pipeline project to be built by 2009-10, government sources said.

The consultants will submit their report by November end when Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar will travel to Pakistan for inking an agreement on the project.

The consultants would also suggest commercial, legal, and contractual the way, the project should be financed, sources said adding this was decided at the two-day joint working group meeting which ended today (July 13, 2005).

The JWG would meet again in August to thrash out issues of safety and security of the pipeline before the summit between Aiyar and his counter part in Pakistan.

The sides want the project to get off the ground by early 2006.