Uzbekistan plans to begin building the fourth line of a gas pipeline to China at the end of 2015, national oil and gas company Uzbekneftegaz told Interfax.

The preliminary feasibility study for the project is being prepared, a spokesman for the company said. The Uzbek section of the fourth line will be 210 km and cost at least $800 million, according to preliminary figures.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2017. There were plans to form a new joint venture between Uzbekneftegaz and China National Petroleum Corp. to carry out the project, but this issue has not yet been decided.

The new pipeline is part of the Central Asia-China Pipeline, which transits Uzbekistan. The country is the third-largest gas producer in the CIS and one of the top 10 gas producers in the world, producing about 60 billion cubic metres annually.