Turkmenistan will complete the construction of a gas pipeline to Iran by the end of the year, the former Soviet republic's deputy prime minister said Saturday.
"Given the intense pace of construction, this project will be completed around November-December," Baimyrat Khodjamukhammedov told national television.
The pipeline will pump gas from the Dovletabat gas field in southeastern Turkmenistan. The gas from Dovletabat has so far only been delivered to Russia.
Turkmenistan announced last month that it would increase gas deliveries to Iran to 14 billion cubic meters a year from eight billion cubic meters.
While Iran holds the world's second biggest gas reserves, it imports as much of it from Turkmenistan as it exports to Turkey.
The development of Iran's gas sector is hampered by a lack of productive investment and the growth of domestic consumption.