Putin calls BAM key link in economic development of vast territories in Siberia, Far East

MOSCOW. July 8 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent greetings to participants in celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) construction project.

"Half a century ago, the legendary construction site brought together hundreds of thousands of civilian specialists and military railway workers to pursue national tasks. Thanks to the zeal and heroic and selfless labor of the builders, surveyors, workers and representatives of other professions, many kilometers of railroad, bridges and tunnels, and technical facilities were built," Putin said in a statement published on the Kremlin website.

"The Baikal-Amur Mainline gave birth to new towns and villages, railway stations, and became the birthplace of daring ideas and designs," he said.

"Today, the Baikal-Amur Mainline is an important and indispensable component of the country's integrated transport system, a key link in the economic development of the vast territories of Siberia and the Far East. The Baikal-Amur Mainline helped open promising and burgeoning markets of the Asia-Pacific Region for the national economy, and secured a reliable transport route for the whole of Eurasia," Putin said.

"Life itself has convincingly proved the need for this strategic railway. Therefore, the agenda now includes further modernization of the BAM and Trans-Siberian Railway, increasing their throughput capacity and upgrading the railway infrastructure," he said.

Putin wished success and all the best to BAM veterans and the current generation of railway workers and builders.