MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. Implementing the Bering Strait tunnel project will first require large-scale regional infrastructure development, including the construction of the Nizhny Bestyakh (Yakutia) to Uelen (Chukotka) railway line, Elena Perminova, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, told TASS.
Earlier, Kirill Dmitriev, Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said Russia hopes to complete the design of the "Putin-Trump Tunnel" under the Bering Strait by the end of 2026, without ruling out China's participation.
"The implementation of the ambitious Bering Strait tunnel concept will be, without exaggeration, a major technological milestone of the 21st century," Perminova stated. "The first and most urgent step must be launching the transport corridor. However, for this megaproject to operate at full capacity, we must accelerate our own land infrastructure development. A grand bridge cannot lead to nowhere -- it must be connected to a powerful, high-tech railway."
This project has the potential to reshape the entire global economy, the senator noted, adding that it will require hundreds of billions of dollars in investments, could reorient 3% to 5% of global trade toward Russia, and will "open up incredible prospects for transcontinental tourism."
