US KHATYN, Yakutsk, September 1 (RIA Novosti) - Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli on Monday announced that his country would begin the construction of its part of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline in the first half of 2015.
“The Chinese side has already planned to begin the construction of the Chinese part of the pipeline in the first half of next year. And we must use effort so that we complete construction and the beginning of the pipeline’s use in 2018,” Zhang said during the opening ceremony of the construction of the Chinese part of the pipeline, at which Russian President Vladimir Putin was also present.
After 10 years of negotiations, in May 2014, Russia and China signed a 30-year deal on the supply of 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China annually.
The 2,200-mile Power of Siberia pipeline running from the Chayanda oil and gas field in Yakutia will be used to deliver gas to Russia’s Far East as well as to export it to China. The estimated cost of its construction is 770 billion rubles [$21 billion].
