A commencement ceremony was held in Gazli, Uzbekistan, to celebrate the start of construction for Line C of the Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline. China National Petroleum Corporation Vice President Wang Dongjin and Uzbekneftegaz First Deputy Chairman Shavkat Mazhitov cut the ribbon and delivered speeches at the ceremony.

Line C of the Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline covers a distance of 529 km in Uzbekistan and will play an important role in diversifying Uzbekistan’s gas export.

Running 1,840 km in parallel with Line A and B which are already operating, Line C is designed to deliver 25 Bcm/a of natural gas from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan to China.

Line C is estimated to begin gas supply from January 2014 and reach the designed delivery rate in December 2015, enhancing the total transmission capacity of the Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline to 55 Bcm/a.