Pipeliners

GORNO-ALTAISK. July 18 (Interfax) - The construction of a gas pipeline from Western Siberia to China is to begin in 2008, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Altai Robert Paltaller has told Interfax. He is a member of a joint working group with Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) that is dealing with the pipeline project. He said that the route of the pipeline should be drawn by the end of this year and the design made next year. Referring to tentative plans Paltaller said that the pipeline will run across five out of the 10 districts of his republic and bring gas to communities in those districts. In March Russia announced plans for two gas pipelines from Siberia to China. A new pipeline network tentatively named Altai may be built to annually export 60 billion-80 billion cubic meters of natural gas.