MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/. The total cost of Moscow-St. Petersburg high speed railroad construction is currently estimated at 1.8 trillion rubles ($20.6 bln), First Deputy Finance Minister Irina Okladnikova told TASS in an interview.

"The total construction cost is currently set as 1.8 trillion rubles. There are operating costs also, much higher, which take place outside the concessionary agreement but directly influence the model," she said.

"The Finance Ministry endorsed a draft decree determining the financial model. The project is expensive and depending on economic conditions in particular. Therefore, we tried to insure all risks of the government and accordingly not to infringe upon rights of the concessionary. There has been a video conference meeting recently with participation of the concessionary - Russian Railways and Sber. We are already working on the text of the concessionary agreement, on each item: where rights, responsibilities, penalties are, and so on. We endeavor to settle differences and finalize the concessionary agreement this week; the term sheet will be set forth in the decree," the official noted.

The railroad with the length of 679 km will cover six regions: Moscow and St. Petersburg, Leningrad, Novgorod, Tver, and Moscow Regions.