During the 25th anniversary of the GDR in Octo-
ber 1974, Erich Honecker, as directed by the Cen-
tral Committee of the Socialist Unity Party, assign-

Photos trom Pancrama/DDR German Youth.

The Orenburg Pipeline

The Orenburg natural gas conten, before the
beginning of work on the pipeline, has al-
ready been opened and produces gas.

ed the Orenburg Central Youth Project to the Free’

Sie: has launched an all-out offen-
sive to tackle the diverse problems confront-
ing humanity in a new way. At the suggestion
of the Soviet Union, a session of the Coun-
cil for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA)
decided in June 1974 to open up the very rich
natural gas deposits at Orenburg in the Ural
region and to build a-natural gas pipeline,
leading from there to the western frontier
of the USSR. Seven socialist countries
agreed to take part in undertaking the giant
project and, after its completion, to exploit
the big new source of energy jointly.

Orenburg is socialist economic integra-
tion in action. Work on the individual build-
ing sections will begin. this year, and plans
are to complete the project in 1978.

To an unprecedented extent this CMEA
project will bring the people in the socialist
countries closer together in daily crrative
work, in a joint effort to fulfil an ambitious
task. The labor force will be comprised
mostly of youth. ‘‘May the energy and cre-
ativity, the unlimited devotion of GDR youth,

receive fresh impétus from it,” said Erich _
Honecker, First Secretary of the Socialist’
Unity Party of the German Democratic

Republic. 5

The volume of the natural gas supplies
released to the GDR will ensure a very con-
siderable increase in. primary- energy.
This growth corresponds to the energy ob-
tained from more than twenty million tons
of brown coal (lignite)—so far the main
source of energy in the GDR—the mining
of which is two to three times as expensive
as the Orenburg project.

The construction of ‘the pipeline is of
great importance in more than one respect,
the Council of Ministers of the GDR declared.
Being a joint venture of seven socialist coun-
tries the project will help consolidate the fra-
ternal alliance with the Soviet Union,
strengthen the community of socialist states
and promote the economic integration of the
member countries of the Council for Mutual
Economic Assistance (CMEA). The Oren-

burg project is another decisive step towards ~

guaranteeing the raw material and power
supplies of the socialist countries for dec-
ades to come.

The countries are the USSR; GDR, Po-
land, Hungary, Rumania, Czechoslovakia

- and Bulgaria.

The Council of Ministers has approved
an agreement on the joint duties to be ful-
filled by the government and the Free Ger-
man Youth (FDJ), stating that the FDJ
should win over its best members — young
skilled workers, engineers, college and tech-

- nical school graduates—for the construction

of the natural gas pipeline and delegate them
for two-year ‘assignments. The Council of

_of.the Ural Mountains in SIP.

thr Ol

Ministers has required
workers, engineers and gral”
oughly prepared for their tas,

The FDJ study courséy,
measure for the political eq
youth—will be devoted to ¥

L
1)

Communist Party of the oj
the Komsomol. Further, the
of the Russian language ane)”
traditions of the Ukrainiat ,
Republic through which
runs, are on the agenda. |
‘Morever. the agreement!
in enterprises supplying
Orenburg (there are many!
be involved in production 004.
Meeting the schedules and ?
as important there as on
Last but not least, it was 48).
working people will take 0)
the colleagues who will be s@
Klaus Sieboid. Ministé
Energy: said. "We are mosti.
number of FDJ members 4),
who want to take part in ©
of the pipeline is growing daY"_

O.. quarter of the wor

of gas and two fifths of its
and gas projects can be 6
found on the territory of
posits of gas explored toda) 5,
tastic amount of 565 trillion”),
ever. Soviet scientists indi),
sources add up to several ®
cubic feet. ‘
In this respect the Soviet
an energy basis which is of
portance for the construc
tions of communism in
joint road of the commvu™
states towards communis™:
Ushgorod is a town
frontier of the USSR which
tion point of the power &£
CMEA countries because oo
position with respect to the“),
ist countries. The following F¢
their juncture there today: fe
Lights” transit gas pipelin® py

t

ne}

ing the USSR. Poland, C2
GDR, Hungary, Rumania |
ther, the ‘‘Friendship”’ oil
‘‘Peace”’ international el
work, both of which also ¢
frontiers of the USSR, ©,
natural gas pipeline syste™ | Jp
West Ukrainian gas fields (jy
the direction of the socia¥?
an annual flowing capac!”
cubic feet. a

Orenburg in the Urals

AQ