Yakutsk hosted celebrations dedicated to welding the first joint of the Power of Siberia gas transmission system (GTS) meant to be a crucial element of the gas supply system being built in eastern Russia. The GTS will convey gas from the Yakutia and Irkutsk gas production centers to the Far East and China.
The attendance was comprised of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zhang Gaoli, First Vice Premier of China's State Council, Yury Trutnev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District.
The Power of Siberia gas pipeline will run nearly 4,000 kilometers through five Russian constituent entities: the Irkutsk Region, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Amur Region, the Jewish Autonomous Region and the Khabarovsk Territory and have an annual capacity of 38 billion cubic meters of gas. By late 2018, a 2,200-kilometer pipeline section will be built to connect the Chayandinskoye field in Yakutia to the city of Blagoveshchensk on the Russian-Chinese border.
