Bridge over the Amur in Blagoveshchensk: construction, photo

The history of Russian-Chinese relations knows periods of hot friendship and cold dislike. True, communication between states and people almost never ceased: it ceased, flared up, but interests and cooperation have always been. There was not only a short, equipped railway or road route between two peoples and neighboring states. It was possible to remove this shortcoming for a long time. Since the last century, an international construction project has been announced - a bridge across the Amur in Blagoveshchensk. And another century is gaining momentum, and "the bridge is still there." The case has moved to the plane of concrete actions more recently.

First projects

The construction of the bridge across the Amur in Blagoveshchensk was laid in the plans for the development of the Baikal region. And it is painted until 2025. The bridge project was first proposed for consideration in 1995. And although he received approval, implementation in different years has not been implemented. In 1998, a default occurred, funding was discontinued. The issue was returned in 2005, but the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade did not approve construction. The economic situation required the resolution of this issue. And they returned to him in 2014.

Crossings

Since 2012, the lack of direct communication was compensated for by the pontoon bridge operating in the absence of navigation on the Amur (early spring and autumn). The facility is able to withstand not only pedestrian traffic and passenger transport, but also freight transportation. In winter, after the establishment of a firm ice cover, the crossing takes place over the ice across the Amur. In the months when ships are traveling along the river, it is possible to travel to China only by a detour road, the length of which is 3.5 thousand kilometers.

Signing of intentions

The bridge across the Amur River in Blagoveshchensk received the status of the planned facility in 2014. The declaration of intent was signed by O. Kozhemyako (governor of the Amur Region) and Lu Hao (head of the Chinese province of Heihe) during the Russian-Chinese exhibition EXPO. In July 2014, the two sides planned to determine the construction period.

At the second meeting of the joint Russian-Chinese group on the development of transport infrastructure, which was held in Hangzhou, an agreement was reached to develop a forecast of freight volumes, which will provide a bridge across the Amur in Blagoveshchensk. 2015 was a start for in-depth study of prospects and signing of interim arrangements.

According to the original idea, the bridge across the Amur in Blagoveshchensk, designed to connect the two countries, should be combined for the passage of road and rail transport. The ropeway is also indicated in the plans. The first stage of construction connects the two powers with the automobile part of the bridge. The declaration of intent states that the construction was to start in the summer of 2016.

Infrastructure

The total cost of the entire building is estimated by experts in the amount of 19 billion rubles. The financing will be implemented by a joint Russian-Chinese enterprise, which received a loan from the Bank of China with a maturity of 20 years. As a guarantee of refunds, the right to collect payment for the journey through the bridge is laid.

The loan was taken for the construction of the Russian part of the structure. The Chinese side built its part at the expense of state funding. The amount of the Russian part of the structure is 14 billion rubles. Two third of the future bridge should be located on the territory of the Amur Region. The infrastructure of the whole complex will include:

• The main part of the facility that runs to the border with China.
• Automobile checkpoint of international importance.
• The point of payment for travel.
• The island of Verkhnekanikurgan, where the road approach will be developed.
• Bridge construction across the canal Kanikurgan.
• Transport interchange on the embankment of the left bank at the point of intersection with the Zarechny-Muravyovka-Konstantinovka highway.
• Two-level transport interchange at the intersection with the federal highway "Access to Blagoveshchensk." And also with the road "Approach to Vladimirovka" and the roads connecting Blagoveshchensk and Gomelevka.
• Access road. It starts from the point of connection of the bridge crossing with the route connecting the city of Blagoveshchensk with the city of Grodekovo. And it stretches before joining the federal road "Approach to Blagoveshchensk" on the 114th kilometer from the "Amur" motorway.

Construction and survey work on the project is carried out by the Amur department of the company LLC Giprostroymost Institute. Construction was to begin in July 2016. The delivery of the object is scheduled for 2019.

Timing has shifted

According to press reports, the launch of the project was again postponed. The reason was the need to create a branch of the Russian-Chinese enterprise, organized for the construction of the bridge. This was reported by Governor A. Kozlov at the Eastern Economic Forum.

He told about the situation in which at the moment there is a bridge across the Amur in Blagoveshchensk. 2016, in its last quarter, should be marked by the end of the stage of approval of design estimates. In addition, the package of documents will be evaluated by the state bodies of expertise. Works on the construction of the bridge will start immediately after the conclusion of the expert commission and will last for the first quarter of 2019.

Planned economic effect

One of the big problems of the Far Eastern region is the lack of a developed infrastructure. Thanks to the policy of additional tax preferences and the weakening of the ruble, production in this territory has become competitive enough to outstrip some Chinese companies. At the moment, the turnover of goods between the two countries in the region is about 300 thousand tons. An increase in these indicators will be facilitated by the bridge across the Amur to China. Blagoveshchensk is a city in the region from where the construction will be stretched to the neighboring state. It will increase the figure to almost 3 million tons. In addition, it is planned to achieve:

1. By 2040, the increase in the capacity of the bridge connection to 3 million people and more than 6 million tons of cargo.
2. Approximate traffic intensity, which will provide a bridge across the Amur in Blagoveshchensk, by 2035 will be more than 8.5 thousand cars a day. Most of the vehicles, about 92%, will be freight.
3. The expected level of tax revenues by 2040 in the federal budget will be more than 8 million rubles, in the local - more than 4 million rubles.
4. Local and state industrial enterprises expect a 25-30% reduction in logistics costs, even if the potential increase in transportation costs is caused by an increase in demand for road transport.

These and other positive changes should bring the bridge across the Amur in Blagoveshchensk. Photos of the beginning of construction began to appear in the press. The positive effect slightly overshadows the existing rules of the customs agreement. According to them, Russian truck wagons are prohibited from traveling through the territory of the PRC. Therefore, the cargo on both sides of the border must be stored at the transshipment points. Governments are considering the possibility of changing the terms of the agreement in favor of simplification.

The bridge in the Jewish Autonomous District

In the summer of 2013, after ten years of negotiations, an agreement was signed on the construction of another bridge to the Celestial Empire. This object should connect Russia with China between the village of Nizhneleninskoye and the city of Tongjiang. The statement that the bridge across the Amur in Blagoveshchensk is half built, reflects only part of the truth. Half of the Chinese side built a bridge from Tongjiang. And on the Russian side, in the village of Nizhneleninskoye, work was just started.

Just a few months after the approval of the treaty in the Middle Kingdom began to erect part of the structure. In a short time, 1755 meters of a railway bridge were built, 17 poles were installed, on which 16 spans were supported. At the same time, the Russian side had difficulties with financing and the lack of a contractor for construction.

The Russian answer

In 2015, the situation developed, when partial funding was promised to be provided from the Far East Development Fund. The sum is 2.5 billion rubles. The contractor of the construction will be USK "Most". According to the latest media reports, the foundation of the Russian part of the transport bridge was laid on February 26, 2016. The main purpose of the future construction is the export of Kimkano-Sutarsky GOK's products to the Celestial Empire. The planned volume is 8.3 million tons per year.

The expected traffic flow through the bridge is planned at a rate of 21 million tons of cargoes within a year. Transport communications after the launch will improve the links between China and a number of Russian regions: the Magadan region, Khabarovsk and the whole region. From the Russian side, the railway communication will be connected to the Trans-Siberian Railway. The total cost of construction is more than 400 million dollars. Completion of work and commissioning of the bridge is scheduled for 2019.

Future dividends

As a result of the past 2015, the Russian-Chinese trade turnover declined to $ 69 billion. This is 20 billion less than in the previous period. Against the background of the decline in trade indicators, the economic importance of bridges is not as critical as in the period of construction planning. In the coming years, crossings through the Amur will only serve the development of the infrastructure of the border areas of Russia and China, as well as increase the turnover of neighboring areas.

The construction of communication between countries is taken under state control. The main object of attention was the construction of a bridge across the Amur River in Blagoveshchensk. Photos of the promotion of works now appear regularly in the press and show an increase in activity. To date, the estimated cost of crossing the Russian-Chinese bridge has been announced. The fare of one passenger will be about 307 rubles, for freight transport - 368 rubles for each ton.