An unnamed Pakistani official confirmed on Friday that an Iranian-Pakistani consortium will start working on the gas pipeline as of March 11, 2013.

The date was announced after Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari held several meetings with Iranian officials in Tehran earlier this week.

The pipeline will enable the export of 21.5 million cubic meters (mcm) of Iran’s natural gas to Pakistan on a daily basis. Iran has already built more than 900 kilometers of the pipeline on its soil.

Pakistan faces a crushing energy crisis which has caused difficulties in financing the pipeline which stretches from the border between the two countries to Nawabshah region in Pakistan.

Washington has repeatedly voiced its discontent with the joint project, but Pakistan has constantly…