Pakistan and Russia signed an agreement on Friday to build a gas pipeline stretching hundreds of kilometers from Karachi on the Arabian Sea to the eastern city of Lahore.

Pakistan and Russia signed an agreement on Friday to build a gas pipeline stretching hundreds of kilometers from Karachi on the Arabian Sea to the eastern city of Lahore.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Pakistan Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi signed the agreement at a ceremony witnessed by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and broadcast live.

Officials said the North-South gas pipeline project would be built by Russian company RT Global Resources -- a part of Russian state corporation Rostec.

The 1,100-kilometre (680-mile) pipeline, with a capacity of 12.4 billion cubic meters (438 billion cubic feet) per year, will connect liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in Karachi with those in Lahore.

Russia is to invest about $2 billion in the pipeline and its first phase is expected to be completed by December 2017, a senior government official told AFP.

The project will take cooperation between Russia and Pakistan "to a new level", Novak said in a statement issued by ministry.

The statement said the pipeline will be operated by the manufacturer for 25 years before being transferred to the Pakistani government.