(Ecofin Agency) - Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Tedros Adhanom, has announced that works on a $4 billion cooperative natural gas project between the country, Djibouti, and China will soon be launched.

According to Adhanom, the project consists of a natural gas pipeline, a liquefaction plant, and an export terminal at Damerjog, Djibouti.

He added that the project is one of numerous areas of cooperation between Ethiopia and its neighbor, Djibouti.

“We will expedite the process of economic integration,” he said.

Meanwhile Djiboutian Foreign Minister, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, said that the countries “are meeting to push forward our agenda of integration which is a dynamic, performing role model but the process is facing daunting challenges.”

The project includes a 700-kilometer pipeline capable of conveying about 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. This would allow Ethiopia export 10 million cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China every year.

The project is expected to take three years to complete and will be financed by China-based POLY-GCL Petroleum Group Holdings Ltd., AA news reports.

Anita Fatunji