Russian pipeline to bypass Belarus will cost $2.5bn

The construction cost of the new Russian pipeline to bypass Belarus will amount to $2.5 billion, Transneft CEO Semyon Vaynshtok said in a statement. The project was proposed shorlty after the January 2007 row, when Belarus blocked the flow of the Russian oil to Europe by imposing high transit duties. The alternative pipeline project also received backing from Russia's political leadership.

The new piepline is expected to connect the town of Unecha in the Bryansk region and the Russian Baltic port town of Primorsk, according to the Rosbalt news agency.

Росбалт