BISHKEK, September 11, 2008 (AFP) - Kyrgyzstan may have to pay more than twice as much as the current price for gas imported from neighbor Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Igor Chudinov told reporters Thursday.

'So far the contract with Uzbekistan has not yet been signed,' but Bishkek plans to set the price 'at around 300 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres,' Chudinov said.

This year, Kyrgyzstan was paying Uzbekistan 145 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres of gas, after Uzbekistan raised its prices to neighbouring countries.

'The Kyrgyz government will manage to find the means to buy Uzbek natural gas in volumes required,' Chudinov assured.

Kyrgyzstan could come to be less dependent on gas imports 'as it has estimated reserves of six billion cubic meters of natural gas, but developing these gas fields is hard due to geographic complexities and lack of infrastructure,' Chudinov said.