India is in talks with Iran and Pakistan to join their consortium to build a $7.4 billion pipeline throughout the three countries, construction of which is expected to start in 2007. A top official remarked that India needs to be directly involved with the pipeline in order to control the price of gas and ensure security of the line, and also mentioned that there would probably be two pipelines as one 56-inch line wouldn’t meet energy demands. The Iranian Deputy Oil Minister stated that the pipeline would either be built by each country independently, or by a team of Indian, Pakistani, and Iranian firms. Financial consultants will be appointed to direct the project by September.

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