Construction of a $1.4bn, 700-mile pipeline to carry natural gas from Peru's Camisea fields to its impoverished south will begin in 2010, according to Kuntur Transportadora de Gas, which will sign a contract with the country's government today.

Kuntur, a subsidiary of US private equity firm Conduit Capital, which focuses on infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean, says construction will take up to three years.