The Chinese will build a bridge across the Kerch Strait
Moscow - Simferopol, May 05 (Navigator, Mikhail Stamm) - The first foreign investors in the economy of Crimea after its annexation to Russia will be companies from China. A Chinese state-owned construction company and a private investment fund may be involved in the construction of a bridge to Crimea across the Kerch Strait, worth $1,2-3 billion, and part of the project will be invested in yuan.
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As Kommersant learned, during Vladimir Putin’s visit to China in the second half of May, the Russian Ministry of Transport will conclude a memorandum with Chinese companies on the construction of a transport crossing across the Kerch Strait. It is expected that the private China International Fund Ltd (CIF) will take part in financing the project, and the state-owned China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) will undertake construction. CIF is positioned as a private company that finances infrastructure projects and is known for its participation in large projects in Angola and Guinea. CIF's financial results are not disclosed. State-owned CRCC is one of the largest construction companies in the world, building railways, roads, bridges and tunnels. In addition to China, the company is implementing projects in Libya and Saudi Arabia.
The technical model of the project has not yet been approved - it could be a road-railway bridge or a bridge and an underwater tunnel.
Attracting Chinese partners is largely a political step, the newspaper writes. The Chinese have extensive experience in infrastructure construction, but first of all, this is the first precedent of a serious partnership with them against the backdrop of tense relations with the West due to the Ukrainian crisis. In addition, raising finance in RMB can be seen as a response to instability by attracting investment in dollars or euros. And China, by participating in the project in Crimea, shows that it supports Russia’s foreign policy position.
Let us recall that China had planned investments in Crimea before: at the end of 2013, China and Ukraine signed an agreement on the construction of a deep-sea port near Yevpatoria. Then Chinese companies expected to take part in the reconstruction of the Sevastopol sea fishing port, in the construction of an airport, shipyard and refinery in Crimea. Participation in the construction of a transport corridor can guarantee the further development of these projects, the publication notes.
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