Rustam Minnikhanov about a new gas pipeline for Innopolis: This is great groundwork for Tatarstan

On December 8, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov inspected the progress made in the construction of a new gas pipeline to the Yelizavetino settlement. This project will provide additional gas supplies to 60,000 consumers in nine regions of the republic. Over 800 million cubic meters of gas will be supplied to more than 300,000 people annually. The city of Innopolis is among the consumers.

“This is great groundwork for the republic, for both Innopolis and industry. The latest technologies are used in the construction. This section is at the final stage. A pipe weighing 270 tonnes has emerged on the other side of the Sviyaga River,” Minnikhanov said.

The main feature of the project is that the pipe is laid underground using directional drilling. This method does not harm the environment, because there is no need to dig trenches.

“It was difficult to lay pipelines under the Sviyaga. About 1.5 km of pipe runs 13 meters lower than the bottom of the river. The diameter of the hole should be almost twice the diameter of the pipe. For example, for a pipe of 500 mm, we had to dig a hole with a diameter of 900 mm,” First Deputy Director General of Neftegazspetsstroy Tatyana Kamalova said.

This technology is unique to Russia. The construction of underwater pipeline sections began in September and will be completed before the end of this year. The new gas pipeline is an investment project of Gazprom. “This year we will complete construction of another 8 km of gas pipeline on land, and next year we will commission the facility,” Director General of Gazprom Transgaz Kazan Rafkat Kantyukov added.