Kazakhstan starts construction gas pipeline to China

DUSHANBE



, July 10, 2008, Asia-Plus –


Construction on a gas pipeline linking energy-rich

Kazakhstan

with


China


started Wednesday, a Kazakh construction company said, reported AP. The pipeline should be completed by June 2010 and will have an initial annual capacity of around 4.5 billion cubic meters (160 billion cubic feet) of natural gas, Kazstroiservis said. The new transit route is part of a larger project to build two parallel pipelines connecting

China

with

Central Asia

”s vast natural gas reserves. The pipes will stretch more than 1,800 kilometers (1100 miles) from the

Turkmenistan

, cross

Uzbekistan

and

Kazakhstan

, and will enter


China


”s northwestern Xinjiang region.


China


hopes the pipelines will reach annual capacity of around 30 billion cubic meters of gas within the next three decades.


China


is growing increasingly reliant on natural gas supplies and its annual demand is expected to reach more than 200 billion cubic meters by 2020. The pipeline will also ensure diversity of export routes for

Central Asia

”s vast gas reserves. Most of regional gas exports are controlled by Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom, and the West is also vying for large-scale energy supplies from the region. Work on the 525-kilometer (325-mile) Uzbek section of the pipeline has already got under way.