Russian President Putin, Indian Prime Minister Modi Discuss Gas Pipeline

On the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Brazil last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the possibility of building another pipeline along the route of the planned TAPI pipeline project, reports The Hindu newspaper.

Moscow wants to work on a pipeline to India “through the Himalayas” that could become the “biggest-ever energy project in history,” Russian Ambassador Alexander Kadakin told the newspaper.

“We are planning to examine feasibility of the Indian initiative to construct a land pipeline which would run from Russia’s southern border to India either along the projected TAPI route or through the Himalayas,” Kadakin told The Hindu.

The project would take an estimated five years and approximately $40 billion to construct.

In May, China and Russia signed the much delayed gas supply deal in Beijing. As per the deal, Russia will supply 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from 2018 via east route pipeline for a period of 30 years.