"The feasibility study of this project has finished and we believe construction will begin in 2024," Oyun-Erdene said, adding that the final pipeline route through Mongolia is still under discussion.
Transit fees will help to recover Mongolia's economy from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the newspaper.
Earlier this month, Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh said that the construction of a gas pipeline from Russia to China through the territory of Mongolia is proceeding according to the schedule.
In February, Russian energy giant Gazprom signed a second long-term contract with China National Petroleum Corp for export along the Far Eastern route. The total volume of supplies will increase up to 48 billion cubic meters of gas annually. The Power of Siberia 2 project aims to deliver up to 50 billion cubic meters of gas annually to China via Mongolia.