SOCHI, August 15. /ITAR-TASS/. China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) will take part in the construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait.

Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov told journalists on Friday that the engineering survey was nearing completion and preparatory construction works were expected to start in August.

“Our Chinese partners showed interest in this information and confirmed their intention to participate in the project,” Sokolov said after a meeting the Chinese company’s executives in Sochi.

The Russian Transport Ministry could cut the project’s cost which was initially valued at $248 billion, Sokolov said.

“We are thinking of how to optimize the project, and we can already see how the price can be optimized. It is clear the construction requires huge funds and it will not be easy to allocate them from the state budget,” Sokolov said, adding the Kerch Strait bridge was to be completed by December 16, 2018.