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Gas Transfer Project Soon to be in Full Swing
Another construction project of almost the same investment scale as that of the Three Gorges Project along the Yangtze River: the full-scale construction of the "West-to-East Gas Transfer" project will be set off at the beginning of next year with the first phase investment amounting to about 120 billion yuan. The main line is projected to complete by 2003.
As a project with priority in its implementation in the Western Development Strategy, the gas pipeline is going to be laid from the Tarim Basin of Xinjiang in the west all the way to Shanghai in the east. It goes through Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu, supplying natural gas for both industrial and residential use along the line.
The main pipeline is about 4,200 kilometers long. The fixed assets investment of the project is 38.4 billion yuan. In addition to the construction of feeder line, the whole project will have to lay over 8,000 kilometers of pipelines, inducing the investment of 70 billion yuan brought about by the project in the lower reaches.
Huang Yicheng, Chairman of China Energy Research Council noted that the exploitation of natural gas plays an important role in China's energy development strategy of the 21st century, the ratio of which in China's energy structure will be raised from the present 2% to 8%. The peak annual output is expected to reach 110 to 130 billion cubic meters, the key points for the exploitation are in the middle and western regions, such as Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia with abundant natural gas reserves.
The senior energy expert deems that the implementation of this project will not only turn resource advantage in Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia into economic advantage but also promoting the adjustment of industrial structure of provinces and cities along the line. It will help spur forward the growth of relevant industries such as petrochemical, steel and construction materials.
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