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The ceremony was attended by Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov, Sverdlovsk Region Governor Yevgeny Kuyvashev, Chelyabinsk Region Governor Alexei Teksler and workers and specialists who were part of the construction project.

During the videoconference, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin and Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev described the development of the road network in Russia and plans for the future.

The 23-kilometre section of the M-12 Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod-Kazan motorway, the first section that has opened to traffic, links the Central Ring Road with the Moscow Big Ring Road. The M-12 motorway will pass through the Moscow, Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod regions, as well as the republics of Chuvashia and Tatarstan.

The third stage of the Yekaterinburg Ring Road completes this construction project and allows vehicle traffic to circle the capital of the Sverdlovsk Region.

A 40-km section of the M-5 Yekaterinburg-Chelyabinsk motorway has been reconstructed completely and will ensure four-lane traffic between both cities along the entire route.

The new motorway sections will reduce the load on the transport network in several regions, make long-distance travel easier and will form an integral transport corridor from St Petersburg to Chelyabinsk and Tyumen.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues,

I am happy to see you all.

Today, we are simultaneously opening several long new sections of motorways in the Moscow, Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions.

We are commissioning the first section of the M12 Moscow-Kazan motorway in the Moscow Region, thus opening this significant route to traffic.

Today, we will also open traffic on the reconstructed section of the M5 motorway. This section has been expanded to four lanes, and it will improve transport connections between Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, the largest cities in the Ural area.

Additionally, the Ring Road will open completely after the third, and final, stage of construction. The speed and safety of highway traffic will increase in the region, and the environmental situation will change for the better.

These completed projects are important steps in developing a reliable transcontinental route that will link western and eastern Russia.

I would like to note that, according to the plans, the Moscow-Kazan-Yekaterinburg route is to be completed by late 2024. With the already operational Neva Motorway, it will take 17.5 hours, rather than 31 hours, to reach Yekaterinburg from St Petersburg. The duration of these trips will almost be cut in half.

These high-speed and well-equipped motorways have strategic significance for the country; they help attract investment and expand exports; they help unlock the potential of adjacent territories more effectively, and they positively influence the entire national economy and the quality of people’s lives.

We have a lot of work to do to build truly effective and convenient transport corridors in eastern and southern Russia. The development of major logistics centres, new freight processing hubs that redistribute consignments between various transport systems is an important element in this work. These instructions have already been issued. Today, I would like to ask you to report on how this is going.

I would also like to remind you that new roads, including the ones opened today, must feature the necessary infrastructure and amenities for drivers, passengers, motorists and tourists, including fuel stations, stores and leisure areas. You and Ihave repeatedly discussed the need for this infrastructure. Today, I am asking you to report on the situation in this sphere, specifically, the situation with these companies and services on these newly-opened motorway sections.

Let’s get to work.

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