Officials with the Russian Ministry of Transport believe that building roads in Russia is not that expensive in comparison with Europe and the U.S.. According to the ministry, building one kilometer of roadway costs about 41 million rubles ($1.3 million).
In China, the cost of one kilometer of road makes up $1.2 million, in the U.S. - $2.4 million, in Canada - $2.7 million, in France - $3.4 million, and in Germany - $3.5 million.
The Ministry of Transport unified the Russian and foreign methods of calculation, having excluded VAT, which is different in different countries, as well as the costs for the preparation of territories, the Vedomosti newspaper wrote. It turns out that without the width and the quality of the roadway, the average price per one kilometer of Russia is 41 million rubles ($1.3 million). The costs are considerably higher in Germany, France, Canada, the U.S. and Spain. The road construction is cheaper in China and Finland.
The causes of different prices for the construction of roads include different standards, climate conditions, and the average distance for the delivery of materials. In Europe, the distance does not exceed 20-40 km, but in Russia, for example, in the construction of the Chita-Khabarovsk highway, bitumen had to be delivered in 1,500 kilometers, Mir TV company said.
According to the head of the Ministry of Transport Maxim Sokolov, the department will continue to work towards the reduction of the cost of road construction. "But we should not reduce the cost of roads at the expense of their quality. Modern roads must be environmentally friendly," he said.