If Putin personally follows this process, the construction will be launched soon, industry observers say. The pipeline is a strategically-important project for Russia, as its implementation will allow the oil industry to develop in Eastern Siberia and enter the Asia-Pacific region markets in the future. The opening of one more export channel is difficult to overestimate, experts say. The oil pipeline route has been disputed for several years, but it was finally decided that the pipeline would reach the Pacific coast instead of China as had been planned earlier.