Power of Siberia pipeline on schedule, insists Miller

Gazprom’s Alexei Miller with Yegor Borisov, head of the Sakha Republic

The Power of Siberia pipeline project will be completed on time and will not be delayed by any other rival pipeline deals, Gazprom chairman Alexey Miller insisted today. Speaking at a meeting with the Sakha Republic’s  Yegor Borisov, Miller waved away last week’s suggestions that the $55bn, 4,000 km project to supply gas from fields in  Borisov’s Yakutia heartlands to China could be in jeopardy. Miller’s robust avowal of the project  comes as the main contractor for the  pipeline Stroytransgaz instigated contract talks concerning the supply of building materials; the Yakut cement plant Yakuttsement is already due to begin production of reinforced concrete for the construction of the pipeline itself in a deal worth RUB3.2bn ($5.5m), and the  project is of great significance for the local economy.