By IANS/EFE,
La Paz : The Bolivian government is planning to invest $40 million in a new gas pipeline running from the southern part of the country to the Argentine border, a Bolivian cabinet minister said.
The 20-km pipeline will connect other gas pipelines in southern Bolivia to lines in northern Argentina, where the fuel will be distributed, Hydrocarbons Minister Fernando Vincenti said Wednesday.
The pipeline will be named after Lt. Col. Juan Azurduy de Padilla, a hero in the wars for independence in Bolivia and Argentina, the minister was quoted as saying by the ABI news agency.
This is one of the projects to be officially announced by the governments of both countries on Friday in Sucre city, where Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is scheduled to meet with her Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales.
The two countries are also expected to sign a new deal regulating Bolivian gas exports to Argentina, the goal of which will be to increase gas exports to 27 million cubic meters per day.