Work on the Baotou-Linhe gas transmission pipeline officially started in Linhe district, Bayannur, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on March 9.

Inner Mongolia West Natural Gas Co is responsible for funding and constructing the pipeline, with a total investment of 910 million yuan ($132.38 million). It is the first long-distance high-pressure pipeline project with hydrogen blending capacity in China.

Starting from Jiuyuan district in Baotou, the total length of the pipeline is 258 kilometers. Its maximum gas transmission capacity will be 1.2 billion cubic meters per year, and it is expected to be completed and put into operation by the end of this year.

The pipeline is expected to meet the gas demand of natural gas transmission and distribution projects in the cities of Bayannur, Baotou and Wuhai in Inner Mongolia, further reducing the energy cost of enterprises and promoting the optimization of the regional energy structure.