DUSHANBE, May 29, Asia-Plus -- China intends to import natural gas from Turkmenistan via the territory of Tajikistan, according to information from the Ministry of Energy.  

Rashid Gulov, the head of the energy policy department of the Ministry of Energy, has told Asia-Plus that China intends to have completed the installation of the gas pipeline Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Tajikistan-China by 2009. 

At the same time, Mr. Gulov noted that there was no yet an agreement on installation of that gas pipeline via Tajikistan, “however the agreement is supposed to be reached in near future.” 

In the meantime, the Chinese side confirms that China will import natural gas from Turkmenistan at the rate of 30 billion cubic meters a year beginning from 2009.  The Xinhua news agency has reported that Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Turkmen counterpart Saparmurat Niyazov in the spring this year a general agreement on the construction of the gas pipeline Turkmenistan-China and supply of Turkmen natural gas to China.  By the end of this year, Ashgabat and Beijing are supposed to conclude an agreement on jointly prospecting  for gas and developing gas fields as well as on the main principles of the construction of the gas pipeline.   

“If China constructs the gas pipeline via the territory of Tajikistan it will allow meeting some 70%-80% o Tajikistan’s requirements in natural gas,” Mr. Gulov said. Noting that in this case Tajikistan will receive between 700 million and 800 million cubic meters  a year and profit received from the transit gas supplies will amount to some US$38 million,” Tajik energy official said.  

Mr. Gulov has also supposed that if the gas pipeline is constructed via Tajikistan it will pass along the highway from Dushanbe through Nurobod and Jirgatol to Kyrgyzstan and from there to China.