China ready to complete construction of border crossing point in vicinity of Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island by 2027

KHABAROVSK. Jan 30 (Interfax) - China plans to complete the construction of a border crossing point on its side in 2026 to ensure the operation of a future transport corridor through Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island (Chinese name: Heixiazi Island), the press service of the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation (FEDC) said.

Speaking at a working group meeting in the city of Fuyuan on Thursday, the chairman of the Development and Reform Committee of Heilongjiang Province, Yuan Feng, said that the construction of infrastructure for the border crossing point on the Chinese side will be completed by the end of 2026, with passenger traffic opening in 2027.

"The Chinese side confirmed its interest in the coordinated development of the island and the implementation of joint projects in accordance with the approved roadmap, noting the active progress of infrastructure construction on its part of the island," the FEDC said.

In turn, the Consul General of China in Khabarovsk, Jiang Xiao, told journalists that the passenger terminal of the future border crossing point on Chinese territory is 95% ready. Finishing work is currently being carried out there. The construction of a cargo terminal is also underway.

The press service of the Border Construction Department (Rosgranstroi) previously said that the Bolshoi Ussuriysky automobile border crossing point on the island of the same name in Khabarovsk Territory on the border with China will be built as part of the Effective Transport System national project in 2028.

The crossing's capacity will be 400 vehicles, 2,500 people and 3,600 tonnes of cargo per day. On Russian territory, ten traffic lanes will be equipped, and buildings and structures with a total area of 16,500 square meters will be built.

Technologies based on an intelligent border crossing point will be implemented, including equipping it with weigh-in-motion and dimensional control systems, portal and mobile inspection complexes, radiation control systems, video analytics, an under-vehicle inspection system and other systems.

Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island, with an area of 254 square km, is located on the Amur river in the western part of the suburbs of Khabarovsk. The area of Russian territory is 174 square km; the western part of the island and Tarabarov Island have been under Chinese jurisdiction since 2008.