Pairing of the EAEU and SREB acquires real outlines: the list of infrastructure projects has been agreed
The Eurasian Economic Commission established a list of priority projects to be implemented by the EAEU States and support the formation of the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB). 39 of them are for construction of new roads and renovation of the existing ones, creation of transport and logistics centers, development of key transport hubs, etc. This was reported by the Director of the Transport and Infrastructure Department of the EEC Yerzhan Nurakhmetov in the framework of commemorative events dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Inland Transport Committee of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE-ITC) in Geneva.
Yerzhan Nurakhmetov noted the ongoing work on the development and establishment of new transport routes between Europe and Asia.
"The establishment of such routes will halve the average time of delivery of goods. In this context, we see great opportunities from the cooperation with China," said the EEC representative. Together, we will now proceed to the implementation of the pairing of the EAEU and SREB. In the field of transport and infrastructure, we have already developed criteria for projects to be included in the draft "road map" for interaction with China. Together with the ministries of transport of the Union States, we defined the scope of interaction in part technological, regulatory, and tariff regulation, agreed a list of Eurasian transport routes and a list of priority projects, 39 of them relate to the construction of new and the renovation of the existing roads, creation of transportation and logistics centers, development of key transportation hubs.
In particular, a large-scale project for the construction of new roads within the international transport route Western Europe-Western China 8445 km long is almost finished. In addition, high-speed railway line Moscow-Kazan should be built, where trains will operate at speeds up to 400 km/h; traveling from Moscow to Kazan will take 3.5 hours. At the moment, mechanisms for attracting Chinese investments to this project are being discussed.
In addition, it is envisaged to construct railroad China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan, which will open access for goods to the markets of West Asia and the Middle East. The development of the railway line Armenia-Iran will connect the existing rail systems of the two countries, thus ensuring access for Armenia through Iran to Kazakhstan, China and further. Thanks to this project, the real opportunity is not only a direct railway between Iran and other Gulf countries, but also the possibility of land transport among these countries and other States of the Silk Belt Economic Road.
During the visit to Geneva, representatives of the Commission also managed to agree the start of works on establishing business cooperation with the International Transport Forum (ITF). Interaction with the ITF, representing the international strategic think-tank that promotes the formation of the global transport policy, will allow the Commission to bring the issues of development of inland transport corridors to the global level, as well as to strengthen its role as an international organization in the multilateral transport agenda. As a first step towards the interaction, the Deputy Director of the Transport and Infrastructure Department of the EEC Sergey Negrey and the leader of the group for the ITF road transport Elena Shatberashvily expressed their willingness to consider the conclusion of a memorandum of cooperation in the field of transport. The signing of this memorandum will give an opportunity to use and implement best practices in the sphere of transport and infrastructure within the EAEU.
Press-release at the official Eurasian Economic Commission web-site