ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Jan. 29
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
Construction of the first spot (mountain tunnel) within the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline construction project (line D) on the territory of Tajikistan will be completed this year, Trend reports with reference to the Tajik Telegraph Agency (TajikTA).
“The construction of the first tunnel is underway in the Rudaki district,” Tajik Deputy Minister of Energy and Water Resources Sharifa Khudobakhsh said. “Some 99.8 percent of the construction work has already been completed.”
Construction of other facilities is also beginning on the Tajik section, which is the longest in this pipeline.
The Central Asia-China gas pipeline (line D) has a total length of 966 kilometers and will pass through the territory of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan (205 kilometers), Tajikistan (391 kilometers), Kyrgyzstan (215 kilometers) and China (155 kilometers), according to the Tajik Energy Ministry.
An agreement was signed between China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Tajiktransgaz company in March 2014, on the basis of which Trans-Tajik Gas Pipeline Company Ltd joint venture was created with a joint participation of the sides amounting to $300 million each, the report said.
The project provides for the construction of 42 mountain tunnels with a total length of 63.3 kilometers and other infrastructure in Tajikistan. During the implementation of the project, more than 3,000 Tajik citizens will be provided with work.
Within Tajikistan, the route will run through the territories of Tursunzoda and Hisor cities, as well as Shakhrinav, Rudaki, Vahdat, Faizobod, Nurobod, Rasht, Tojikobod and Lyakhsh districts - to the border of Kyrgyzstan.
It is expected that 25-30 billion cubic meters of natural gas will be delivered annually from Turkmenistan to China through this gas pipeline. The implementation of this project will attract more than $3 billion of direct investment by China in the Tajik economy, TajikTA reported.
Previous three branches of the Central Asia-China gas pipeline include three parallel branches (A, B and C) and run along the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China route.
As of January 2020, since the date of commissioning of this gas pipeline in December 2009, over 300 billion cubic meters of natural gas have been exported to China. Over 80 percent of the volume of gas supplies to China was provided by Turkmenistan.