BLAGOVESHCHENSK, December 24. /TASS/. A bridge across the Amur River between Russia and China began in Russia’s Amur region. The construction will be over in three years, the regional government said on Saturday.

In 2019, the bridge will be ready for traffic, the government’s press service said.

The project will require a sum of 2.47 billion China Yuan Renminbi (355.6 million U.S. dollars). The project will be implemented on the basis of the public-private partnership. The overall cost of the project will amount to 18.8 billion rubles (308.43 million U.S. dollars). The bridge is planned to be commissioned in October 2019. Its traffic capacity is expected to reach 3.09 million tonnes of cargoes and 1.48 million people a year by 2020.

The Russian co-founder of the project is the Company Most, 100% owned by the Amur region government), China’s co-founder is a limited liability company for the construction of the bridge across the Amur River established by the Heilongjiang province government.

The active phase of preparations for the construction was launched in 2013. Russia will build a 13.4 kilometer-long section of the bridge and China will build a 6.5 kilometer-long section of the 19.9 kilometer-long and 14.5 meter-wide bridge.