A state-run Chinese engineering firm will build an underground storage facility for Turkey that is able to hold one billion cubic metres of natural gas, state media said.

China Tianchen Engineering Corp, an engineering and construction firm specialising in chemical plants and storage facilities, will spend 8 years building the gas storage near Turkey's salt lake south of Ankara, Xinhua reported.

On Tuesday, a ceremony was held in the Turkish capital for the launch of the project, which was attended by a Chinese vice minister of commerce and Turkey's energy minister, Xinhua said. It didn't provide any financial details.

In China, the oil and gas industry started building gas storage facilities in the past few years to cope with demand fluctuations as consumption of the cleaner fuel surges.

Trade between China and Turkey reached $18 billion in the first 9 months of this year, and the two nations have set a goal to lift bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2015, Xinhua said.- Reuters