Two Russian investors have signed an agreement to fund a 2,637m cable-stayed bridge in Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave, which is sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea.
Russian state-owned Sberbank PJSC and VIS Group, a private funder and construction group that specialises in public-private projects, signed the deal last week with Anton Alikhanov, governor of the Kaliningrad Region.
The budget for the bridge, which would cross Kaliningrad Bay, is presently put at about $560m. A final construction cost will be determined after the regional government has examined VIS Group’s design.
The bridge is part of the masterplan for the development of Kaliningrad over the next 15 years. It will have four lanes and should be able to handle more than 10,500 vehicles a day.
Work is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024, and which VIS Group will operate and maintain it until 2047.
Alexander Vedyakhin, first deputy chairman Sberbank commented in a press statement: "The bridge is an essential project. It will ensure the efficient use of the region’s roads, including access to the trans-European corridors, and will improve the environmental situation in Kaliningrad since it will let stakeholders deliver goods … without having to travel through the city."
Igor Snegurov, the chairman of VIS Group, added that the bridge would reduce the average travel time between the shores of the bay by 30% and transport costs for cargo by more than 50%.
Sberbank is the largest bank in Russia. Vis Group has carried out a number of large infrastructure projects, including the Khabarovsk Bypass highway in eastern Siberia, a bridge over the river Ob in western Siberia and the Vinogradovo-to-Tarasovka highway in the Moscow region.
The project will be carried out by Vis Group’s Tenth Concession Company.
Image: VIS Group’s rendering of the Kaliningrad Bay bridge
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