MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. As soon as a bridge across the Lena River in Yakutia is built, using it will cut the cost of Northern Supplies to the region by 4 billion rubles ($46 million) every year, and prices will backtrack accordingly, Russia's First Deputy Minister for Development of the Far East and Arctic Gadzhimagomed Guseynov told a news conference at TASS.
"By building this bridge we may cut the cost of Northern Supplies by 4 billion (rubles) annually," he said at a news conference on construction of a bridge across the Lena River and its role in development of the North-South and West-East routes. "According to experts, in the region's most settlements prices on shipped goods will drop by up to 10%"
Yakutia's head of the government, Kirill Bychkov, noted the bridge would favor the macroregion's transport accessibility from current 22% to almost 90%. This is an alternative way to develop the Far East's transport infrastructures, he added.
The bridge will create a single transport framework, he continued. "There is a huge effect in terms of the agglomeration's development. Traditionally, all cities are built around train stations. In our case, the city is on the left bank, while the train station is on the right bank. With a direct connection, Yakutsk will be able to receive a huge agglomeration effect from expanding housing construction, and realistically the concept of the left and the right banks will be used only to give directions," he said.
The project's implementation boosts other industries in the region, he said. "It will cut retail costs, the cost of [delivering] building materials, which means [lower] cost of square meter and the lower [cost of] mortgages. That is, there is no industry that would not favor from this construction," he added.
The project's funding
Yakutia's representative said investments in the project would be 65 billion rubles ($754 million) from the federal budget, from the regional budget - 26 billion rubles ($301 million), from off-budgetary sources - 41.4 billion rubles ($480 million).
The regional construction sector plans the bridge will be technically ready by up to 20% in 2025. "An important point for us and on what we are currently working with the federal authorities is to identify sources to use grants for advanced funding. The plan for this year is 1.3 billion rubles ($15 million)," Yakutia's official said.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to consider cutting terms of federal budget funds to finance the bridge across the Lena River.
About the bridge
The bridge will connect the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur rail lines with the Northern Sea Route; it will connect the Lena and the Kolyma federal highways with the Vilyui highway - that is the country's Eastern part with the Sea of Okhotsk coast.
The Lena Bridge will mean a new stage of socio-economic development for Yakutia - for the first time, the regional capital will be connected with a large part of the territory, presently separated by the river, from where the main part of cargo is delivered. The transport and logistics hub will connect air, rail, road and river transports to create a framework for development of a backbone transport network in the Far East.