ULAN BATOR, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The construction of Mongolia's first oil refinery will begin in its southeastern Dornogovi Province in the third quarter of 2018, the country's Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry said Friday.

The project will be completed by 2022, according to Dolgorsuren Sumiyabazar, minister of Mining and Heavy Industry.

The project was financed by a loan from India, which was announced during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country in 2015.

The refinery will have a processing capacity of 1.5 million metric tons of oil per year and will annually produce 560,000 tons of gasoline and 670,000 tons of diesel fuel, as well as 107,000 tons of liquefied gas. The refinery would boost Mongolia's gross domestic product by 10 percent.

Mongolia currently exports crude oil to China while importing petroleum products from Russia.