Putin renames ‘Power of Siberia 2’ pipeline project ‘Power of Baikal’: Russian energy minister

Russian President Vladimir Putin has renamed the "Power of Siberia 2" pipeline project the "Power of Baikal," Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov said Wednesday.

Speaking at the 11th Eastern Economic Forum in Russia's Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok, Tsivilyov said Moscow was in the final stages of preparations to move the pipeline project into the construction phase.

"Previously, it was called the 'Power of Siberia 2' project, but thanks to Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin), he renamed it more accurately to 'Power of Baikal'," Tsivilyov said.

The proposed pipeline is designed to transport 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Russia to China through Mongolia.

Tsivilyov said the already-operational Power of Siberia pipeline is running at full capacity, while gas infrastructure is being actively developed across the Russian Far East.

He added that the gasification rate in the Far East is twice the Russian average and said targets set by Putin are being achieved.

In September last year, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller announced that a legally binding memorandum on the construction of the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline had been signed.