Tehran, Aug 28, IRNA -- The first phase of a 156-km-long oil pipeline project in India by the Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC) is expected to go on stream next year after some 25 weeks of groundbreaking construction operations.

The English-language daily 'Tehran Times` quoted IOEC board member Ahmad Azimi as saying that with the pipe procurement problem meeting the standards set forth by the Indian party, the project's physical progress would be accelerated.

Referring to the current state of construction work on the project, Azimi noted that the engineering work has been done and all contracts for the construction work have been signed.

He added that the first phase of the 165 million-dollar project will be completed in 2005 while the second phase will go on stream in 2006.

The project is the largest overseas an Iranian company has ever undertaken to date.

Pointing to the dlr 20 million Qatar project, he said the IOEC is to start the undersea pipe-laying project within a month.

The company has already completed the engineering and procurement works on this multimillion-dollar EPC project.