YAROSLAVL - A 483-MW gas-steam combined heat and power (CHP) plant built by a China-Russia joint venture has been officially brought online, China's Huadian Corporation announced Tuesday.

The CHP is the tangible result of the Huadian-Teninskaya joint project, which was launched by China Huadian Hong Kong Co Ltd and Russia's second regional power company TGC-2 in 2011, with a total investment of $571 million.

As China's largest electricity project in Russia, the project was designed to generate 3.02 billion KWH of electric energy and 814,000 Giga of heating supply annually.

"The completion of the Huadian-Teninskaya project is of great significance to the Yaroslavl Province. It will improve the living quality of local citizens," acting governor of the Yaroslavl Province Dmitry Mironov said during the operating ceremony held on the project site.

Listed as a priority project in 2014 by Yaroslavl authorities, the new CHP plant is expected to tackle the province's chronic problem of power shortages. According to TGC staff, the operation of the Huadian-Teninskaya project will bring down Yaroslavl's power deficit from 40-50 percent to 5-15 percent and fully cover its total power demand in warmer months.

The project is widely seen as a symbol of further deepening of cooperation between China and Russia in the field of electric power.

According to General manager of the China Huadian Corporation Wen Shugang, China Huadian Corporation will devote more efforts in exploring global energy markets in the future, including Russia.

Recent years have witnessed continuous achievements in energy cooperation between China and Russia under the strategic guidance of the two countries' top leaders.

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Kirill Molodtsov said on the ceremony that the Russian government welcomes the entrance of Chinese companies including Huadian into its local markets, and it will create more favorable conditions to facilitate energy cooperation between the two countries in the future.