OREANDA-NEWS. November 05, 2014. Berdymukhamedov went on adding that the construction of the fourth - D branch of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline is supposed to be accomplished in 2016.

The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has been purchasing gas from the Central Asia since 2009 after the launch of the first two branches of the pipeline (A and B) running from Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

The third branch (C) of the gas pipeline has been launched recently along the same route.

China and Turkmenistan have an agreement to boost gas deliveries to 65 billion cubic meters by 2020. To this end, the additional fourth branch (D) is constructed through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

The D branch is about 1,000 kilometers long. It starts at the border of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, runs through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and goes to China.

Some 410-kilometer stretch of the gas pipeline will run from west to east through Tajikistan, 93 percent of the surface of which is a mountainous area.

In this regard, the construction process faces many difficulties, since the pipeline will run through 47 percent of rivers and 76 kilometers of tunnels.

China and Turkmenistan enjoy a natural advantage and huge capacities in energy cooperation. China is one of the key buyers of Turkmen gas, and intends to increase its annual purchases up to 65 billion cubic meters of gas.