M-12 expressway from Moscow to Kazan should be extended to Yekaterinburg by 2024 - Putin
MOSCOW. April 21 (Interfax) - The M-12 expressway under construction from Moscow to Kazan should be extended to Yekaterinburg by as soon as 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during his address to the Federal Assembly on Wednesday.
The state Avtodor company, which is building the M-12, said earlier that the route might not be extended to the Urals until 2030.
"We need to expedite the construction of the Moscow-Kazan highway, which is already underway, and, moreover, to extend it to Yekaterinburg. We need to complete this project in three years. Thus, by 2024, taking into account the existing Moscow-St. Petersburg freeway and the Central Ring Road, we will have safe high-speed traffic across the entire European part of the country - from the Baltic to the Urals," the Russian president said.
He said funds from the National Wealth Fund would be allocated for key highways, including the M-12, but that new development tools would also be offered to the regions. "What do we have in mind? Namely, so-called budgeted infrastructure loans. At annual interest of not more than 3% and repayable in 15 years. We plan to issue at least 500 billion of such loans before the end of 2023," he said. The infrastructure loans will be distributed according to the following principle: the lower a region's debt, the more in the way of infrastructure loans it can receive.
Putin also said the creation of large infrastructure should be accompanied by the development of the related support infrastructure.
"It is simply not enough just to connect the end points - what's the point if nothing changes in the lives of people in a small settlement or city, with high-speed trains and automobiles will be passing by? Support infrastructure definitely ought to bring with it the development of all the regions it crosses, a state-of-the-art modern regional network will emanate from it. Now, due to infrastructure loans, the constituent members of the Russian Federation will be able to speed up such construction projects, "the president said.
