Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Nov.11
By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend:
Turkmenistan views Kyrgyzstan as a strategic partner in the construction of a new gas pipeline to China, said the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhammadov after talks with the President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev, who is on an official visit to Ashgabat, a source close to the negotiations told Trend Nov.11.
"We view Kyrgyzstan as a strategic partner in the construction of a new pipeline route Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan-China," Berdimuhammadov said.
He also said that the condition for the development of the region is to provide stable transportation of energy resources from Central Asia to international markets.
Ashgabat and Bishkek are involved in a major project to supply gas to China from the region of Central Asia, primarily from Turkmenistan.
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has bought gas in the region since 2009, after the commissioning of the first two branches of the pipeline (A and B) from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. A third branch (C) of the gas pipeline, which also passes through this route, has been recently commissioned.
Currently, work on the construction of the fourth branch (D) under the new transit route through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan is underway.
Construction of additional branch is connected with the fact that Beijing has a long-term agreement with Turkmenistan to increase deliveries in 2020 up to 65 billion cubic meters of gas. Construction of a new branch (D) is scheduled for completion in 2016.
In September 2014, the Director General of the pipeline project Liu Tao said in an interview with the Chinese Zhenminvan that the total length of the branch D will be about 1,000 kilometers.