In addition, foreign companies bidding for the project have been short-listed and relevant parties are to sign a framework agreement on joint ventures in the near future, said Zhang Guobao, vice-minister of the State Development Planning Commission in charge of the project.

Zhang said the Chinese owner of the pipeline and international investors have already reached an initial agreement on the form of co-operation, profit-sharing of upper-end products, distribution, split of investment and financing.

And adequate gas deposits have already been located in the Tarim Basin of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. An additional deposit of 100 billion cubic metres of natural gas is expected to be located soon.

The studies have found that the pipeline also must be shortened by 167 kilometres, he said.

Local networks of natural gas pipelines in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces in East China as well as Central China's Henan Province have already gone through feasibility studies. Some of the localities have already started construction on local pipeline networks.

(Xinhua News Agency 09/11/2011)