Russian Government To Consider Construction Of Railway From Sakhalin To Mainland

The Russian government will discuss on Thursday the issue of constructing railway from the mainland to the Russian Far Eastern island of Sakhalin via the Nevelskogo Strait. According to the project, the length of the bridge through the Nevelskogo Strait will be approximately 6.5-6.8 km, while the length of the shelf dam will reach some 4 km. According to preliminary estimation, the price of the contract is approximately 4.5 bln. dollars, while the project implementation will take 7-8 years. The Russian Transport Ministry hopes that the construction will pay back within 15-30 years, since its completion will make it possible to reduce the period of goods delivery from Japan to Europe by 20-30 days. The Russian Transport Ministry considers the bridge construction the first stage of establishing a transport corridor from Japan to Europe via Russia. Plans for the future stipulate the construction of a bridge from Sakhalin to the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Transport experts believe that the implementation of such a project will reduce by 15-20% the tariff costs of freight delivery to the European part of Russia, as well as enhance the Russian status in the Asian-Pacific region and will help "overcome the centrifugal trends in the development of the Far Eastern territories."