Gazprom To Construct New Pipelines In Asia To Import Gas

The board of Russian gas major Gazprom has approved the company's activities to guarantee long-term gas imports from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to Russia.
According to the company's plans, gas imports and transit from these countries are expected to increase from 42bn in 2003 to 54bn cubic meters in 2004-2006, while by 2010, imports and transit are expected to total 80-90bn cubic meters.
Meanwhile, higher imports require the extension of existing pipelines and the construction of new ones in Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
In particular, Gazprom has plans to increase the annual capacity of the Central Asia-Centre pipeline system to 90bn cubic meters, the company press service said, not providing the current figure.