Saturday saw the 50 billionth cubic meter of natural gas supplied from Turkmenistan through the Central Asia-China pipeline since December 2009, according to the Ministry of Land and Resources. The supply can meet the natural gas demand of Beijing for six years, according to the ministry which quoted statistics from the Xinjiang Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau in a statement released on its official website on Tuesday.

Fifty billion cubic meters of natural gas can release the same energy as burning 80 million tons of coal.

Particulate emission is also reduced by 120,800 tons, the statistics showed.

The pipeline is about 1,830 kilometers long, with a designated supply of 30 billion to 40 billion cubic meters every year. This guarantees the supply for the daily use of a population of about 400 million living in the Yangtze and Pearl River deltas.

The pipeline starts in Turkmenistan and is connected to the second West-East Gas Pipeline.