A Beijing gas supplier said on Tuesday that it had completed a new natural gas pipeline that would supply clean energy to residents in the capital's suburbs.

The 110-km pipeline, which runs parallel with the city's 6th ring road from the southern district of Daxing to Changping in the northwest, will carry 3 billion cubic meters of gas a year, according to the Beijing Gas Group Co., Ltd.

The expanded gas supply will avoid the use of 2.6 million tons of coal, cutting emissions, including sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and soot.

The pipeline, which has been under construction since 2005, cost 1.4 billion yuan (about US$186 million).

Beijing has been trying to wean its residents and industries away from coal in a bid to clear the capital region's air. It managed to raise the proportion of clean energy in its energy consumption from 45.4 percent in 2000 to 59.9 percent in 2006.

Since this year's heating season started on Nov. 15., the capital has advocated using natural gas in community boilers and offered incentives to residents who replace coal stoves with electrical heaters.

(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2007)