MINSK, 23 October (BelTA) – The construction of the high-speed railway line Eurasia via Belarus cannot begin within the next five years, BelTA learned from Belarusian Transport and Communications Minister Anatoly Sivak on 23 October.
According to the source, only presentation materials have been made as part of the project, which is supposed to connect Europe and China with a high-speed railway line. The materials have been made by a taskforce involving representatives of the Belarusian and Russian railways. The document contains kind of a feasibility study with prices, a payback period, expected figures, and the possible involvement of the state.
“The project may be profitable in hands of private companies but, frankly speaking, I don't think it will be implemented here within the next five years. Although the ministry is interested in accelerating the process,” said Anatoly Sivak.
The official noted that the effect of the project can be calculated in more detail only after the first section of the railway is built to connect Moscow and Kazan. “Then we will be able to see the technical solutions used as part of the project. We will be able to see the real price for this line,” said Anatoly Sivak.
Anatoly Sivak noted that for now there are no calculations to confirm the project can be implemented without the assistance of the state. No calculations like that have been made in Belarus or Russia. “Rather serious debates about the project are going on in Russia,” noted Anatoly Sivak. “I hope the practical implementation of the first section [of the railway] in Russia will give arguments to the people, who would like to implement this image-building project in our country.”
The high-speed railway project Eurasia is expected to connect Europe and China. The railway from Beijing to Berlin via Moscow will be 9,447km long, including 2,366km in the Russian territory.
