EBRD's Loan Committee to Take Part in Financing St. Petersburg's Circular Road Construction

The Credit Committee of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has decided to issue to the government of Russia a EUR 255 million loan, of which EUR 135 million will add to the financing of the construction of the eastern half of the circular road around St. Petersburg. The rest of the money will pay for the continued construction of the Chita-Khabarovsk federal highway. This is according to the statement made on Friday, in St. Petersburg, at the French-Russian Transportation Infrastructure and New Technologies 2002 seminar by Anatoly Savinykh, Deputy Director of the Department of Highway Construction of the Ministry of Transportation of Russia.

As reported earlier, in 2001, the builders of the circular road assimilated USD 161 million, exceeding the state-imposed annual limit by nearly USD 60 million. Construction vehicles began using the 19.3 km-long completed part of the road in October 2001. In December 2001, Russia's government added nearly USD 65 million to the financing of the construction. If the first phase is to be completed in 2005, nearly USD 197 million must be spent over 2002, USD 248 million in 2003, USD 274 million in 2004, and nearly USD 330 million in 2005. The total cost of the eastern semi-circular half of the road is expected to come to USD 1,454 billion.