Approximately ten million tons of oil will be dispatched to China by rail this year from Russia, said Igor E. Levitin, Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation on Thursday.

Levitin told Xinhua that Russia had transported 5.8 million tons of oil to China by rail in the first seven months of this year. The total amount for 2005 was 7.6 million tons.

The ministry has received applications for 10 million tons of oil to be delivered to China by rail and the railway could support the transportation of over 15 million tons, said Letevin.

When the pipeline from East Siberia to the Pacific Ocean was operational oil currently transported by rail would be delivered through the system and new markets required to be developed for Russia's railways, said Levitin.

A new line in Chitinskaya, bordering northeast China, was being built to transport outbound non-ferrous metals, coal and other minerals, he added. The branch line would assist compensate for freight lost to the oil pipeline, observed Levitin. .

He's visiting China to attend the tenth session on transportation cooperation between the two countries.

Expressing satisfaction with the achievements made by both countries in transport cooperation Levitin said he was pleased to see that entrepreneurs from Russia and China had shown great interest in investing in infrastructure development.

(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2006)