In the Amur Region, on June 10, the first automobile bridge across the Amur was opened, which is also a checkpoint across the Russian-Chinese border. Columns of trucks drove towards each other under colored fireworks from both sides. Interestingly, most of the officials participated in the opening via video link. The bridge has been under construction since 2016.
The construction of the bridge began six years ago in Blagoveshchensk and Heihe at the same time. It is noteworthy that this is the first bridge in Russia that was built without budget investments, according to a concession project. The length of the bridge is 1080 meters, 540 meters each on the Russian and Chinese sides. Construction costs from Russia amounted to 13.6 billion rubles, from the Chinese (in terms of rubles) – 5.2 billion rubles.
The solemn opening ceremony was held in the format of a videoconference between Moscow, Beijing, Vladivostok and the banks of the Amur. The Minister of Transport of the People’s Republic of China noted that the completion of the construction became possible thanks to the many years of efforts of both parties – the idea of road communication across the Amur appeared back in the 90s of the last century. In 2014, Oleg Kozhemyako, then governor of the Amur Region, and his Chinese counterpart, the head of Heilongjiang province, signed a declaration of intent during the Russian-Chinese EXPO exhibition, which stipulated that the construction of the bridge should start in the summer of 2016. In 2015, an intergovernmental agreement was signed, which launched this large construction project in December 2016. The financing scheme was developed by another governor, Alexander Kozlov, who later became the Minister for the Development of the Far East, and is now the Minister of Natural Resources.
“To some extent, this object is unique, this is the first Russian automobile bridge across the Amur, which will contribute to the development of the Priamurskaya ASEZ and give an incentive to investment projects. For a long time there was no permanent car crossing here – only a ferry service and pontoon crossings. Now trucks will be able to go through the Kanikurgan logistics complex in Heihe,” said Russian Minister of Transport Vitaly Savelyev.
In addition to the purely practical benefits of the new highway, Russian and Chinese representatives also noted its symbolic significance. The launch of the bridge, according to the assurances of the Chinese side, confirms the continuation of economic and cultural ties, reduces the transport route for cars by 300 km, and in the future will increase the freight turnover between the countries via highways up to 1 million tons per year.
In the future, it will be possible to use the bridge for tourist trips, although this is still not possible due to coronavirus restrictions.
“It was not an easy story to build a kilometer-long bridge without attracting budgetary funds, purely on a concession,” said Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, who was in Vladivostok at that moment. – I think it’s great. And Bamtonnelstroy-Most worked remarkably well, which is already the second object we are commissioning, the first was the railway bridge. As for the importance of the bridge, we talk every day today about the need to turn to the east. But this spread cannot be declarative. We need to expand the BAM and the Trans-Siberian Railway, we need to build bridges across the Amur. It is necessary to put in order the border crossings. This is of paramount importance not only for the Far East and the Amur Region, but for the whole of Russia.”
The opening of a year-round road and rail crossing across the Amur is one of the first steps in infrastructure modernization. The shortage of carrying capacity exceeds 70 million tons per year, and with the current dynamics of cargo turnover growth, it can double. The possibility of opening new checkpoints throughout the Far East and the development of near-bridge areas near them is being considered.