China's third west-to-east gas pipeline is expected to become operational by the end of 2013 and will carry about 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually, China Daily reported.

The 5,200-km project will include one artery, six branch lines, three gas storage facilities and a liquefied natural gas terminal, and the pipeline will run from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province.

The project is operated by PetroChina Co. Ltd., the listed arm of the country's biggest energy conglomerate, China National Petroleum Corp.