Approximately ten million tons of oil will be dispatched to
China by rail this year from Russia, said Igor E. Levitin, Minister
of Transport of the Russian Federation on Thursday.
Levitin told Xinhua that Russia had transported 5.8 million tons
of oil to China by rail in the first seven months of this year. The
total amount for 2005 was 7.6 million tons.
The ministry has received applications for 10 million tons of
oil to be delivered to China by rail and the railway could support
the transportation of over 15 million tons, said Letevin.
When the pipeline from East Siberia to the Pacific Ocean was
operational oil currently transported by rail would be delivered
through the system and new markets required to be developed for
Russia's railways, said Levitin.
A new line in Chitinskaya, bordering northeast China, was being
built to transport outbound non-ferrous metals, coal and other
minerals, he added. The branch line would assist compensate for
freight lost to the oil pipeline, observed Levitin. .
He's visiting China to attend the tenth session on
transportation cooperation between the two countries.
Expressing satisfaction with the achievements made by both
countries in transport cooperation Levitin said he was pleased to
see that entrepreneurs from Russia and China had shown great
interest in investing in infrastructure development.
(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2006)