Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Dec. 27 / Trend D.Azizov /
The second section of the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China, also called "The Central Asia-China" gas pipeline was commissioned in late Dec. 2010, Chinese Ambassador to Uzbekistan Yu Hongjun told journalists.
Both lines of Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline were to be commissioned by the end of 2010, the ambassador said, adding that Uzbekistan will start gas supplies to China in the near future.
The Chinese Embassy in Uzbekistan reported that construction of the linear part of the pipeline's second branch and associated infrastructure was completed in October, and so far tests were the pipeline was being tested for its capacity to hold pressure.
Currently, the pipeline delivers gas from Turkmenistan and by the end of 2010, the volume of gas supply will be about four billion cubic meters, with supplies scheduled to increase by 15 billion cubic meters in 2011.
As previously reported, the first branch of the pipeline "Central Asia - Uzbekistan" with a total length of about 7,000 kilometers, a diameter of 1067 mm and a capacity of 40 billion cubic meters of gas annually, was commissioned in December 2009.
In 2009, heads of state for China, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan launched a gas processing plant on the Amu Darya River in Turkmenistan to open the Central Asia-China natural gas pipeline.