Bishkek, Zpresskg.com - The State Concern "Turkmengaz" will finance the construction of a gas compressor station with the capacity of 30 bcm a year at the gas field "Malay" in Lebap province, Turkmenistan.ru reports.

This was announced by the Director of the State Agency for the Management and Use of Hydrocarbon Resources Yagshigeldy Kakayev at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan. Yagshigeldy Kakayev is temporarily acting as Vice Premier for oil and gas, chemical industries and fisheries replacing Baymyrat Hodzhamuhammedov owing to the latter's ill health.

The construction of the gas compressor station will be carried out by the companies of the Turkmen energy sector. The start of works is scheduled for September 2010 and the facility should be commissioned in December 2012. The construction of this station at the starting point of the pipeline "Malay - Bagtyyarlyk", ensuring natural gas supplies to China, will significantly increase the throughput capacity of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline.

As the Turkmenistan.ru correspondent reports from Ashgabat, the meeting also heard a report on the upcoming visit of a delegation of Turkmenistan to the Islamic Republic of Iran scheduled for July 24 to discuss issues of bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas industry. The delegation will be headed by Deputy Prime Minister Rashid Meredov.

The head of Turkmenistan's Foreign Ministry also reported on the discussions held in the framework of the international conference on Afghanistan in Kabul. The conference discussed the possibility of constructing a TAPI gas pipeline (Turkmenistan - Afghanistan - Pakistan - India). According to him, this topic was of "special importance" within the framework of the forum.