MOSCOW, December 28 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom has started construction and assembly work on the western section of the Southern Corridor gas pipeline in Russia, that will feed into the South Stream gas export pipeline, Russia’s natural gas monopoly said on Friday.

The Southern Corridor system will also provide additional gas supplies to Russia’s central and southern regions and help develop industries and utilities.

The system’s total length will be 2,506 kilometers with annual capacity of 63 billion cubic meters. The project is due to be completed in 2017.

The system encompasses eight regions of Russia: Nizhny Novgorod, Penza, Saratov, Volgograd, Voronezh and Rostov Regions; the Republic of Mordovia; and Krasnodar Territory.

The western section runs from the Pisarevka compressor station in the Voronezh Region to the Russkaya station in Krasnodar Territory, totaling 880.6 kilometers.

Russkaya will be the Southern Corridor’s end point and South Stream’s point of entry.

Stage 2 of the project - the Eastern Section - which also terminates at Russkaya, will run 1,625 kilometers from Pochinki (Nizhny Novgorod Region).