A joint venture formed by Russian and Chinese companies, supported by China Investment Corp, offered a USD 110 million for the construction of the cross-border rail bridge between China and Russia. The construction of the bridge started in 2014, but it was put on hold because a funding gap that now is covered by the JV.
With a total investment of USD 379 million, the bridge will connect Tongjiang in China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province with Nizhneleninskoye in Russia’s Leninsky District.
“This means that the financing problem from the Russian side has finally been solved,” said Zhang Ruohui, an official from the Commerce Department of Heilongjiang province.
Known as the Amur International Rail Bridge or China-Russia Tongjiang Rail Bridge, once completed, it will be the first of its kind between the two countries and will serve as the key transport link that is expected to boost bilateral trade previously constrained by the region’s poor transport infrastructure.
“The bridge will help boost the city’s standing as a transport hub with Russia, and will enhance its role in the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor. The bridge will help unleash the potential of Tongjiang as a key transport hub in the region,” Wang Jin, the mayor of Tongjiang, said.
The bridge is expected to help boost China’s trade with Russia and significantly reduce transport costs. Bilateral trade between China and Russia stood at USD 69 billion last year, according to official data.
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