The overall effect of circumferential rail traffic in Kazan accounted to more than 120 billion rubles
What the Ministry of Transport of Russia has promised to Tatarstan colleagues
Despite the crisis, officials are not going to abandon their plans on development of mega-projects in Tatarstan. With such a reassuring message the Minister of Transport of Russia Maksim Sokolov addressed to his colleagues. According to him, there all chances to start construction of Moscow-Kazan High-Speed Rail Line, and the operation of the transport corridor Europe-Western China in the near future. His colleague form State Duma promised the regions the underground construction at the expense of the federal center. What else Tatarstan officials asked the federals – in the report of Realnoe Vremya.
China will take a final decision on HSR before the end of the year
The Board of the Ministry of Transport and Roads of the Republic of Tatarstan on 2015 results was uncommonly attended by a lot of federal officials: the Minister of Transport of RF Maksim Sokolov, a presidential adviser Igor Levitin, a Chairperson of State Duma Committee of Russia on Transport Evgeniy Moskvichev. This memebership is not surprising: one way or another most of Tatarstan's major transport projects are co-financed or controlled from Moscow.
Accordingly, in the first place the federal projects were discussed. The main one is the Moscow-Kazan High-Speed Rail Line, that has been at the stage of elaboration for several years. 'Despite the fact that the project has a high cost, more than 1 trillion rubles, not only federal budget should finance it in order to implement the project. The design is continuing, we should reach an agreement with our Chinese partners. Today, they are already in the consortium and involved in this project together with design organizations. And if all project works will successfully be completed before the end of the year, if all necessary arrangements will have been made, primarily at the intergovernmental level (and several intergovernmental ministerial memoranda on the project development have already being implemented), we can say that by 2017, this project has a chance to have entered the construction phase,' he said.
As you may remember, the Russian-Chinese consortium got the right to design Russia's first high-speed line Moscow-Kazan-Yekaterinburg. The merger companies Mosgiprotrans, Nizhegorodmetroproject, China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group was the only bidder. Earlier it was reported that Siemens also considered particitating in the project, but the conditions of work have not been approved yet. Also, the environmental damage from the project has not been assessed: JSC High-Speed Rail Lines (a subsidiary company of the Russian Railways) conducts public hearings on this issue on the first quarter of 2016.
Tatarstan asks federals to dredge Sviyazhsk
His colleague, the Minister of Transport and Roads of RT Lenar Safin, didn't tell promising forecasts in his speech, but he designated the problem points, where he counted on federal support. He recalled that due to the support of the Ministry of Transport of Russia and the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport in 2015 the works on the dredging of water to the moorings of the city Bolgar have been completed on the co-financing terms: at the expense of the Federal budget (70% — 100 million rubles) and funds of the Republic of Tatarstan (30% — 45.5 million rubles).
He explained that the project will allow larger vessels to come up to the island, thereby an amount of tourists, coming by water transport, will increase fourfold – to 130 000 people per year, that will increase the amount of tourists to Sviyazhsk island almost half as much again – to 360 000 people per year. Last April, the Chairman of the State Committee on Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan Sergey Ivanov told about the necessity to dredge in order the ships with high draught could come to Sviyazhsk. Also, he mentioned that he expects co-financing from the federal budget. However, the issue remains unresolved and the Ministry of Transport joined to its lobbying.
…but will receive money for underground construction as well?
Another major project is the circumferential rail traffic around Kazan that will cover a large area in suburb of Kazan, railway stations major transport hubs with underground. The Ministry of Transport has spread the information that the first trains will be launched before the end of 2015, the entire project will be implemented in 2018, and it will cost to 18 billion rubles.
'In 2015, techno-economic evaluation of the project was developed, which showed that in case of realization the total socio-economic and budgetary effect will amount to more than 120 billion rubles,' said the Minister. At the same time, the project will make electric train from Kazan to the airport more popular, the Ministry supposes.
Speaking about electric vehicles, the Minister took advantage of the moment and asked for support from Moscow. According to his words, taking into account high prices, municipal transport companies cannot afford to buy new equipment. 'We ask for support at the legislative level the initiative of subsidizing the purchase of trams and electric trolleys in the ratio at 70% — federal funds and 30% — Republic funds. This will contribute greatly to the development of industries that will be another step in the import substitution strategy,' he said to Moskvichev. Moskvichev, in his turn, recalled that the programme of subsidizing half the cost of the tram is already running, but admitted the necessity. 'On electric trolleys the Ministry of Industry and Trade will allocate funds in the ratio 70:30,' – he promised. Moreover, he intends to rid the regions from the burden of expenses on underground construction. 'But the main thing – is the underground, and at the United Russia meetingwe will bring up an issue of constructing underground entirely on federal money,' – he said. Everyone applauded.
Analogues of International Multimodal Logistics Centre of Sviyazhsk will appear all over Russia
The federals guests noted another pilot project in Tatarstan – the International Multimodal Logistics Centre of Sviyazhsk, the construction of which was completed last year. The project was started in 2007. Located in the intersection of rail, river and road routes, it will become the main point on way from Europe to Western China. If, of course, plans of China, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia on alternative route of cargo transportation bypassing Russia won't destroy it. By 2030, 40% of Tatarstan's goods traffic will have been redirected to IMLCS, the Ministry expects.
However, for all time of local and federal advertising, there are no companies-residents, investments of which the authorities expect. Tatflot will be the first investor-resident of IMLCS: the company intends to remove the cargo port there from Kazan. It was reported that the possible participants will be Transkonteiner (RZD's structure) and Sovfrakht, but there were only intensions. No speaker mentioned about new residents. Nevertheless, they are ready to transmit the experience of IMLCS over the whole Russia. 'It is a very important object that we started to build in order the development of inland waterways was closely connected to the railway infrastructure. This is the example that you need to implement in other subjects of the Russian Federation as well,' said Levitin. 'The construction of IMLCS has been completed, now our objective is to use its potential that has been gained through multimodal transportation,' said Sokolov.
