The company has constructed a single cofferdam in the Zhou Ping River and pre-welded pipe is currently been lifted into place.

The whole crossing project is expected to be completed by 10 April 2011.

CNPC commenced construction of the $US23.3 billion Second West – East gas pipeline in late 2008. The scope of works involves the construction of 8,704 km of 48 inch diameter gas pipeline, which includes one trunk line and eight branches that will connect Horgos, in the Xinjian Uygur Autonomous Region, with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region after traversing 14 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities.

The trunkline has been divided into eastern and western sections with Zhongwei, in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, designated as the pipeline’s midpoint.

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The western section, running 2,461 km from Horgos to Zhongwei, commenced construction in February 2008 and was completed in January 2010. The western section connects to the Turkmenistan – China Gas Pipeline at Horgos, and also feeds into the 935 km Second Shaan – Jing Gas Pipeline, which runs from Jingbian County in Shaanxi Province in the west to Beijing in the east via Shaanxi, Shanxi and Hebei provinces.

The eastern section, running 2,477 km from Zhongwei to Guangzhou, and with a design pressure of 10 MPa, commenced construction in December 2008 and is expected to be completed this year. Once completed, the pipeline will have a capacity of 30 Bcm/a of gas.