The first section of Central Asia Pipeline is due to start operations before the end of 2009, delivering gas to China, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the pipeline's builder and operator, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC).

Sun Bo, general manager of CNPC Central Gas Pipeline Co, was quoted as saying that the Central Asian gas pipeline will connect with the second west to east pipeline with initial capacity of 4.5 billion cubic meters.

Capacity will rise to 30 billion cubic meters by 2012, Sun said.

CNPC signed agreements in July 2007 to import 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually over the next 30 years from Turkmenistan via the Central Asia Gas Pipeline.

Parallel pipelines linking the two countries will go through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan before entering China via Xinjiang.

Uzreport.com