Gasification level in Far East three times below Russia's average - Patrushev

KHABAROVSK. July 5 (Interfax) - The level of gasification of the Far East continues to be low, three times below Russia's average, which negatively affects the population's quality of life and the development of the local economy, and the gasification of the Far Eastern Federal District therefore remains a priority, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said.

"The low level of gasification, which is 24% on average in the district, remains a significant problem negatively affecting the population's quality of life and the economic development of the Far East," Patrushev said in Khabarovsk on Tuesday at a meeting on the national security of the Far East.

"That's three times below the national average," he said.

"There aren't any centralized gas supply systems at all" in Buryatia, the Transbaikal Territory, the Amur and Magadan regions, the Jewish Autonomous Region, or Chukotka, Patrushev said. "Thus, the task of gasification of the region remains a priority," he said.