MEDIA: bridge across the Amur River to be built in 2018
At the first stage, a motorway will be built across the river and, at the second stage, a railway bridge, Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov announced.
The bridge to China across the Amur River will be completed in 2018, all the necessary approvals have been obtained, and the work is already under way, the Minister told the Izvestia newspaper.
“At last, all the requisite decisions related to the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Far East Development Fund have been passed. Today, the contractor has set to work. The contract has been signed. We will now accelerate our efforts to make up for lost time and complete the construction as soon as possible”, Sokolov promised.
Earlier reports said a road bridge would be built across the Amur at the first stage and a railway bridge at the second. The 1,500 ha construction site is located in the Blagoveshchensk District. Once completed, the Russian part of the bridge will be owned by the Amur Region and the Chinese part will be the property of the Heilongjiang Province.
The construction is based on public-private partnership. The total cost is estimated at about RUB 18.8 bn and it is expected to be put into operation in 2019.
On the Russian side, the founder of the project is Most (a company wholly owned by the Amur Region government); on the Chinese side – the Heilongjiang Limited Liability Company for the Development and Construction of the Amur Bridge, founded by the Government of the Heilongjiang Province. A concession company was registered in March and the concession agreement was signed in June in Harbin.
The Amur Bridge will provide the necessary infrastructure for the Priamurskaya Advanced Special Economic Zone, focusing on creating transport, logistics and other production facilities, as well as future gas chemical and gas processing plants in the Amur Region. The new bridge will also help reduce transport costs for businesses, while boosting joint investment projects and allowing the neighbouring regions reduce the import and export route by more than two-thirds. The Amur River region authorities are also convinced that the bridge’s construction will have a positive effect on the development of tourism.
Source: tass.com
