Russia has have agreed to construct a 1,100km-long pipeline in Pakistan, RT reported.

The pipeline will stretch over nearly the entire length of Pakistan to carry natural gas from LNG terminals in the port city of Karachi to the northern city of Lahore, on the border with India.

“The construction of the North-South gas pipeline is bringing economic cooperation between Russia and Pakistan to a new level,” stated Russian energy minister Aleksandr Novak.

According to NDTV, the pipeline will have a capacity of about 438 bcf per year, and will cost at least $2b to construct. Russia plans to begin construction in early 2016.

“Currently there’s an acute shortage of energy in the densely populated regions of Pakistan, specifically in the center and north of the country. It limits economic growth. The pipeline construction will be an important step towards solving this problem and will serve as the basis for cooperation with our Russian partners,” noted Pakistan’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

The project is slated for completion in 2020.