China's first coal-to-gas project ready

The first phase of a coal gasification project in north China is complete and will start to supply gas to Beijing at the end of this year.

The first phase is ready for production after successful tests, said Li Zhichun, director of the recycling industrial park in Hexigten Qi, Chifeng City in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, where the project is located.

The remaining 100-km section of the 429 km transmission pipeline from Chifeng City to Miyun County in Beijing is under construction, Li told Xinhua on Thursday.

The first phase can producing 1.33 billion cubic meters of gas each year. The Datang International Power project has three phases with a total capacity of 4 billion cubic meters annually. The second phase is under construction and work on the other two phases will get underway next year.

The project began in August 2009, with an estimated investment of 25.7 billion yuan (4.2 billion U.S.dollars).