Second natural gas pipeline to link Russia, China
Russia and China could soon sign another major contract for gas pipeline construction after inking a landmark 30-year gas deal in Shanghai during Russian President Vladimir Putin's state visit in May, a senior Russian official said Wednesday.
"Given the pace of Chinese economic growth ... with an agreement on the compromise (gas) price formulas having been achieved, it is very likely that a contract could be signed in the very near future for the construction of a western route (gas pipeline) that will fully cross the Siberian Federal District," Russian Presidential Administration Chief Sergei Ivanov told reporters in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk.
He said the contract on the western route, also called the Altai Natural Gas Pipeline, might be "less capital-intensive" than the eastern one, but "it's no doubt going to cost us tens of billions of dollars," ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
