Sakhalin-Hokkaido Tunnel Project Discussed in Sakhalin

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK. Sept 29 (Interfax) – Sakhalin authorities and Japanese businessmen who arrived in the region under a JAPEX-SKS oil and gas mission discussed on Thursday a plan to build a subsurface tunnel to link Hokkaido to Sakhalin.

Regional Economic Commission Vice Chairman Sergei Karpenko said the authorities are proposing that a tunnel be laid between Sakhalin and Russia’s mainland, and between Sakhalin and Hokkaido, given the fact that offshore oil and gas fields are far from the transport infrastructure.

“Such tunnels must have a motorway and a railway, as well as a pipeline for shipping oil and gas. If Japanese know-how is used, the construction will require an investment of $30 million per square kilometer,” Karpenko said.

Japanese businessmen said that the project can be properly assessed after a feasibility study has been conducted. “Since Sakhalin has a large reserve of natural resources, while Japan experiences a shortage, the project could ideally solve many problems,” they said.

The Japanese oil and gas mission includes representatives of 25 companies, among them Marubeni Gas Co. Ltd., Toho LPG & Coke Co. Ltd., Sumitomo Metal Co. Ltd., Japan Energy Corporation, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd., Ito Chu Enex Co. Ltd., and Hokkaido Gas Co. Ltd.