A new road connecting Russia, Kazakhstan and China is under construction and expected to be finished by 2018. The project is deemed to help the participating regions and countries not only with respect to transport development but also economically.
The construction of a new highway connecting the cities of Russia, Kazakhstan and China started in 2007. The transcontinental project called “Europe-Western China” corridor is for some the revival of the Silk Road that was used 10 centuries ago by trading caravans traveling from Europe to Asia.
Planned to be finished by 2018, the new route will not only support the development of transport infrastructure in the participating countries but also create entirely new opportunities for flows of passengers and goods as well as tourists.
"The road will also play a very important role in the integration processes between the participating states," said Deputy Transport Minister of Russia Andrei Nedosekov. “The highway will be about 8.5 thousand km long bringing together about 60 companies and organizations,” he added, quoted by RbcDaily.ru.
In Russia the road runs from St. Petersburg via Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod region, Tatarstan, and crosses the Orenburg region. Then it goes through Kazakhstan to the Chinese seaport of Lianyungang.
The new road will have a number of advantages over the existing alternatives. The travel time of transport by sea passage through the Suez Canal lasts up to 45 days, by the Russian Trans-Siberian Railway it is 14 days. Traveling the distance between the seaport of Lianyungang and St. Petersburg will last only about 10 days.