All of the studies concerning the pipeline have been completed, and the two partners in the project, Algeria and Italy, have decided to begin investment in 2010, Khelil said.
Italian Economic Development Minister, Claudio Scajola called the pipeline a strategic project for the energy security of Europe.
Scajola added that France had lately expressed interest in adding a branch to the intended 1,470-kilometer (913-mile) pipeline, which will pass through the island of Sardinia, to its Mediterranean island of Corsica.
The ministers also agreed on increasing the capacity of the TransMed pipeline, which is presently capable of transporting 24 billion cubic meters of gas a year through Tunisia, by a further seven billion cubic meters.
