OREANDA-NEWS. January 16, 2014. China is likely to begin importing natural gas from Turkmenistan via Kyrgyzstan from 2016 once the new linear part of the gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China is commissioned, reports Azer News.

Last month, Kyrgyzstan and China signed an agreement on the construction of a gas pipeline running from Turkmenistan to China via Kyrgyzstan.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, came to an agreement on the fourth direction of the transnational Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline along the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan-China route in September 2013, says Azer News.

The Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline was commissioned in December 2009 and, upon completion, will increase the amount of Turkmen gas delivered to China up to 40 billion cubic meters per year.

Ashgabat and Beijing have recently agreed on the supply of an additional 25 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas per year, which would bring the total volume up to 65 billion cubic meters, says Azer News.