China and Russia plan to take tourists underwater as they plan to construct the first commercial submarine in the world by the end of this year, according to local Chinese media.

China, together with a team of Russian scientists, is planning to complete the first civilian submarine by end of 2017. The submarine, which could carry between 20 and 40 passengers, could go to a depth of 24 meters.

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Two major Chinese travel agencies, namely, Zhangjiajie and Beibu Gulf, are reportedly interested on the development of the submarine. The tourist submersible vehicle is currently being developed by the Tianjin Ostar Underwater Vehicles Co. The joint partnership is named Ostar Sino-Russia Joint Marine Technology Research Institute.

The submarine will reportedly be equipped with an electric motor for its underwater trips and will operate on diesel, or entirely electric, on the surface. After completion, the submarine will be primarily used for tourism to countries like Greece, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam.

Dr. Konstantin Sivkov, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences, told Sputnik News that the development of such project will be smoothly realized without complications.

"This project is absolutely feasible. It will be a highly mobile submarine that does not carry any weapons. Its task will be to safely dive with the passengers, show them the underwater life and safely surface," Sivkov said.

Sivkov further added that the submarine is poised to grab the tourists' attention, as long as ticket prices remain reasonable.

"If it is too high, then who will use it? The millionaires possibly will have their own similar subs or they may already have them," he noted. "In general, such a submarine is not much different from a cruiser with the only difference being that it dives, so it is likely that the price will be slightly different."