The potential of the largest infrastructure projects was discussed during the meeting “Not Merely a Construction: Infrastructure Development as an Economic Growth Driver” on the sidelines of the 27th Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2024).
The event was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Marat Khusnullin, Governor of the Tver Region Igor Rudenya, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Highways State Company Vyacheslav Petushenko.
The implementation of infrastructure projects ahead of schedule turns into an economic growth driver. And, in particular, road building can become a powerful incentive for the accelerated development of territories.
As Vyacheslav Petushenko revealed, the Russian Highways State Company has picked up a rapid pace of construction and reconstruction of federal motorways. In 2023, 839 km of roads were put into operation ahead of schedule. They are the M-12 Vostok from Moscow to Kazan, high-speed Bypasses of Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don, the 1st Stage of the Tver Bypass down the M-11.
This year, the construction of the extension of the M-12 to Yekaterinburg at the Dyurtyuli-Achit section and the Northern Bypass of Tver will also be completed ahead of schedule. This will ensure seamless high-speed traffic and reduce travel time from north to south and from west to east of the country: via the Central Ring Road along the M-12 Vostok to Kazan and further to Yekaterinburg, as well as via the Central Ring Road along the M-4 Don to Azov-Black Sea coast.
Ahead-of-schedule construction ahead was made possible owing to special attention to road construction as a driving force behind the expansion of the country's economy on the part of the President, the Government of the Russian Federation, federal executive authorities and regional leaders.
Collaboration almost in a chief commander style with the participation of major network (Gazprom, Transneft, Rosseti), design and construction organizations let promptly resolve complicated systemic issues, and this in turn enabled to develop the most complex megaprojects, such as the M-12 Vostok highway from Moscow to Kazan in record-breaking time, totalling 810 km in length. Moreover, gigantic work has been done all across the new constituent entities of Russia. In 2022-2023, the State Company redeveloped over 1,350 km of motorways and four dozen bridge structures. In 2024, it is slated to restore 640 km of road sections and 21 bridges.
“The work performed allows us to state with confidence that we are able to cope with the most ambitious challenges. The President has already set priority guidelines to improve the quality of life of Russian citizens, and next is our teamwork to carry our megaprojects into effect. And we are totally ready for this,” stressed Vyacheslav Petushenko.
By the end of 2025, the road system of the Russian Highways State Company will deliver comfortable and safe travel for regions with a population of about 71.6 million, which is approximately half the entire nation. Moreover, factoring in the regions that gravitate toward the highway network (Ulyanovsk, Samara regions, Mordovia, and so on), this figure will make up 64% or 94 million.
