BEIJING - China's second west-to-east gas pipeline is ready to supply natural gas to Hong Kong, as branch lines linking Hong Kong with the pipeline went into operation on Wednesday, according to the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

The pipeline, which will send natural gas from the nation's resource-rich western region to the energy-starved east, will bring natural gas produced in central Asia to Hong Kong to ease the region's energy shortage.

Branch pipelines now link the cities of Shenzhen and Hong Kong with a combined length of more than 80 km, according to the company.

Most of the natural gas transported from inland will be used for power generation at Hong Kong's Black Point Power Station, accounting for a quarter of the region's electricity consumption.

More than 50 percent of Hong Kong's power will be generated using natural gas by 2015, according to a plan created by the Hong Kong government.

The country's second west-to-east gas pipeline, running from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to south China's Guangdong province, can transfer 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually. It is expected be fully operational by the end of this year.