Underwater tunnels completed for China-Russia gas pipeline

BEIJING - Construction of two underwater tunnels for the China-Russia natural gas pipeline has been completed, according to a report by China's State newsagency, Xinhua. It says the two tunnels, each 1,139m long, connect Heihe in Heilongjiang province and Blagoveshchensk in Russia.

The 3,371km-long Chinese section of the pipeline starts in Heihe and terminates in Shanghai.

The Russian part of the pipeline will link the Kovyktin and Chayandin gas fields in Siberia with the city of Vladivostok, covering a total distance of nearly 4,000km.

Upon completion, the pipeline is expected to provide China with 38 billion cu me of natural gas from Russia annually.  www.webershandwick,cn (ATI).