Russia says it will press ahead with construction of an environmentally controversial Siberian oil pipeline that will take Russian crude to Asian markets, according to the Interfax news agency. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov was quoted to say that work on the project is proceeding in strict accordance with the plan approved at the end of last year, and without any delays.

The route for the pipeline in one section passes within less than a kilometer of Lake Baikal, the world’s largest freshwater lake, which has caused environmental concern. Zhukov, who is co-chairman of a commission for cooperation with China, said the first section of the pipeline would be completed by the end of 2008.

Russia’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal by environmentalists against the route of the 4,100-km pipeline. The 1.6 MM bpd pipeline is to run from eastern Siberia to Russia’s Pacific coast, allowing increased oil exports to markets in China, Japan and South Korea. State-controlled pipeline operator Transneft will be building the $11-billion project.