Russia is re-addressing the USD 6.5-billion Khabarovsk – Sakhalin – Japan energy bridge project, which involves laying an underwater cable, in view of the fact that Japan’s energy sector has suffered major damage due to the earthquake and the tsunami.

The press service of electricity company RAO Energy Systems East said that the company’s chief Ivan Blagodyr had presented the project during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The idea of building an underwater cable to Japan was announced earlier by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin the day following March 11’s destructive earthquake and the tsunami. Sechin estimated total electricity supplies from Russia’s Far East to Japan at 6 000 megawatts. The underwater cable would be constructed over a two-year period.

The Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Viktor Ishayev told journalists that the project’s value is estimated at 186 billion roubles (around USD 6.5 billion). He said several sources would be used to finance the project: 50 percent in budget funds, 30 percent in loan funds, and 20 percent in the company’s own funds.

The project for building an energy bridge to Japan has existed since 1998. RAO UES Russia found a partner for the project in 2003 when it signed a partnership protocol with Sumintomo Corp. The holding planned to build several steam-gas stations along with the Japanese company in Sakhalin, as well as an underwater transmission line to the Hokkaido and Honshu islands. Both sides decided on developing a feasibility study and preliminarily estimated the project at USD 1.9 billion. However, the project did not progress after these initial plans.

Ishayev said that the energy bridge project had been merged with plans for developing generating capacity in the Khabarovsk krai. “The project relies on the use of coal stations and on using the Khabarovsk krai’s and the Sakhalin region’s coal reserves,” he said.

According to ES Vostok, the project envisions the construction of two coal stations and the setup of an underwater cable for an uninterrupted supply of power from Sakhalin to Japan.

In addition, Russia announced that it is ready to boost supplies of liquefied natural gas and coal to Japan.