RIA Novosti: Japanese Lawmakers Propose $6Bln Gas Pipeline From Sakhalin
In an attempt to cut Japan's energy costs after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, a group of 33 Japanese lawmakers will soon submit a project for review to build a gas pipeline between Japan and Russia’s Sakhalin Island, project leader Naokazu Takemoto told Bloomberg on Wednesday.
The construction of the 1350-kilometer pipeline from the most southern point of Sakhalin to Hokkaido and Honshu Islands, ending 150 kilometers away from Tokyo, could take 5 years and cost 600 million yen ($6 billion), according to the group's estimates.
The plan was discussed 10 years ago, but energy companies expressed little interest until the country faced the need for alternative energy sources after most of its nuclear reactors were put on stand-by following the disaster at the Fukushima plant.