Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Mar. 16
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
Kyrgyzstan will have to step up work on the construction of the Turkmenistan-Kyrgyzstan-China gas pipeline, Trend reports referring to the statement by Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, published by the Kyrgyz presidential administration’s press service.
"It is of great importance to use all the capabilities of Turkmenistan in the fields of fuel and energy, as well as the field of investment," as stated by the president.
It was reported earlier that the construction of the 4th branch "D" of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline via Kyrgyzstan is scheduled to commence by late 2019. The State Committee for Industry, Energy and Subsoil Use of Kyrgyzstan reported that, with an estimated cost of $1.2 billion over this segment of the pipeline, the project will have a 3-year implementation period.
Overall, the new branch "D" is intended for the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan-China route.
At present, three branches of the pipeline on the route Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China (branches "A", "B", "C") have been built and functioning. They are to supply 40 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year altogether.
The agreement on the construction of the fourth branch "D" of the "Turkmenistan-China" gas pipeline was signed during the talks between the Turkmen President Gurbagly Berdimuhamedov and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xi Jinping in September 2013. The additional branch's rate of flow is expected to be 25 billion cubic meters of gas, which will allow Turkmenistan to bring the volume of its natural gas exports to China to 65 billion cubic meters annually.
It was earlier reported that, as of December 2018, more than 250 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas had been exported to China since December 2009.
The deposits of Bagtyyarlyk and Galkynysh in Turkmenistan are used as sources for raw materials.