The pipelines will be used to receive the first natural gas supplies for the residents of the city in 2006.

By 2010, Guangzhou wants LNG to be supplied to most users in the city. By 2015, all city dwellers in Guangzhou will be using LNG-derived gas instead of LPG.

To facilitate the conversion process, this year alone will see the Guangzhou Gas Co spend around US$27 million to upgrade facilities and build 100 km of new pipelines.

There will also be full scale construction at the Guangdong LNG terminal, which will see the import of around 3.3 million tonnes of LNG per annum from Australia LNG for 25 years.

The supply from Australia LNG is to begin in 2006.