First pile of future bridge across Lena river in Russia's Yakutia installed
YAKUTSK. Oct 17 (Interfax) - The village of Staraya Tabaga, part of the city of Yakutsk, has seen a ceremony of installing the first drilled pile of a future bridge across the Lena river, an Interfax correspondent reported from the scene.
"I am sure that engineering solutions to be used in building this bridge will serve future generations for centuries. We are finally beginning the practical implementation of this project, which is critical not only for Yakutia but also for the entire country," Yakutia head Aisen Nikolayev said at the ceremony.
The bridge construction is to continue until the end of 2028, he said.
Sergei Romashov, board chairman of VIS Group, said, "Nobody has ever built such structures, a cable-stayed bridge in a permafrost area. This facility will have a unique impact, relegating to the past problems with cargo delivery and changing the way of life and logistics here," Romashov said.
The preparatory work for the project has been completed, including the relocation of all utility infrastructure elements from the bridge construction zone and the arrangement of construction sites on both banks, he said, adding that full-scale operations in the riverbed should begin next summer.
According to the Yakutian construction minister Vladimir Sivtsev, around 50 piles will be installed by the end of 2024. Climatic conditions will not affect the construction process. A dry dock is to be built next spring to arrange a cofferdam in the middle of the river, he said.
"The federal budget appropriations amount to 42 billion rubles, Sberbank has opened a 25-billion-ruble credit line, and we are planning additional funding from the republic's budget, as well. I can't tell you the exact amount now," Sivtsev said.
Up to 1,500 people are expected to be involved in the bridge construction within the next few years.
As reported, Rostec's subsidiary RT-Business Development and VIS Group set up the National Infrastructure Company (NIC) consortium for the Lena bridge project at the end of 2019. The local administration appointed the company as the project's concession holder in January 2020. The concession agreement will be valid for 25 years. RT-Business Development received 33.4% and VIS Group 66.6% in NIC. RT-Business Development withdrew from the consortium's ownership on June 22, 2023, and the 33.4% stake now also belongs to VIS Group.
Sberbank opened a ten-year credit line for 25 billion rubles for the bridge construction project. The bank estimated the project's total budget at the investment stage at 83 billion rubles.
Russia's main state expert review agency, Glavgosexpertiza, approved the 2nd (principal) phase of the bridge project in early September 2023. Yakutia head Nikolayev said in an interview with Interfax that the 2nd phase would cost 122 billion rubles, VAT included. The cost of the 3rd phase, the laying out of the left-bank approach to the bridge, should be within 7 billion to 8 billion rubles.
The 1st phase of the project, which involved preparing the territory and the relocation and upgrading of engineering infrastructure, has been completed.
An automobile bridge across the Lena river is to link three federal and five regional motor roads, the Amur-Yakutia railway, a river port, and an international airport. The local administration said the bridge "will provide all-year transport accessibility for 83% of Yakutia's population," increasing cargo traffic to 6 million tonnes and passenger traffic to 8 million people a year. The bridge will have two lanes, with a projected traffic capacity of 5,300 vehicles a day.
President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to complete the Lena bridge construction by 2028.