RIA Novosti, May 20, 2014
The construction of a new railway bridge connecting Russia with China and other countries of the Asia-Pacific region is due to start soon and will be completed by 2016, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund told journalists Tuesday.
“The construction will start in the coming months and we hope it will be over by 2016,” Kirill Dmitriev said.
Dmitriev said that a memorandum on investment in the railway bridge was signed following the results of talks between the Russian and Chinese leaders in Shanghai Tuesday.
Dmitriev noted that “this is the first bridge between Russia and China, currently there are no bridges connecting our countries, neither highway nor rail.”
According to the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, the bridge will allow a reduction in the transit distance for Russian cargo delivered to China by 700 kilometers and also significantly spur Russian exports.
About 21 million tons of cargo is expected to be transported via the bridge annually.
Dmitriev added that two further memorandums on investment in a logistics company and cooperation in tourism were signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s talks with President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in China on Tuesday for an official visit that is expected to result in the signing of a large number of documents, including bilateral, intergovernmental, inter-departmental and corporate agreements.