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The 810-kilometre high-speed Moscow-Kazan motorway has been completed seven months ahead of schedule. Once opened, it will have positive impact on the socioeconomic situation in 12 regions, including by expanding the access routes network. The new motorway will make it possible to reach the capital of Tatarstan from Moscow in 6.5 hours, rather than 12 hours, as in the past.

The Moscow-Kazan-Yekaterinburg-Tyumen federal motorway, with a total length of 1,980 km, is one of the most important sections of the Rossiya international transport corridor. There are plans to extend the motorway to Yekaterinburg in 2024, and it is set to reach Tyumen in 2025.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, friends, good afternoon.

Today, we are taking another important step in extending the M-12 Vostok motorway, which will become part of the Eurasian transport route Rossiya.

As you know, we opened this motorway stage by stage, starting with the Moscow-Arzamas section in September 2023. The entire modern high-speed motorway between Moscow and Kazan, our largest business, tourism and cultural centres, is now complete. It will take about 6.5 hours to travel this route measuring over 800 km. This is almost half the time it took before.

Vehicle traffic in this direction will become more convenient and safer, which is just as important. Freight volumes will increase and become more cost-effective. Inbound tourism will develop more rapidly.

The route passes through the Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir regions, the Republic of Chuvashia and, of course, Tatarstan. This is certain to improve their investment climate, help create jobs and boost housing construction. It will also promote industrial, agricultural, logistics and service companies. This is what always happens when a road starts functioning: the regions around it begin to thrive.

I would like to thank all the workers, engineers and designers who took part in building this important transport route. I want to thank you for your tremendous work (I will speak about it a bit later) and, of course, for completing the construction project much faster than planned; this is also very important.

Never before have we completed an infrastructure project of this magnitude and complexity within such a tight timeline of just three years. This offers us a great example and sets an effective benchmark for the future, proving yet again that we can and are ready to build fast and to build more, all while building better. This includes social and industrial sites, housing, railways and other kinds of infrastructure. We need to pick up the pace, and our construction industry and the related sectors are ready for that.

I must say that the project to build this road included large-scale, technically sophisticated structures, such as the bridge over the Volga near Kazan, which is over 3 kilometres long. Moreover, as we have noted with our colleagues, locals will benefit from shorter commutes and even save money compared to the existing ferry crossing.

Let me share several important figures with you. We will have built, upgraded and brought up to standard over 31,000 kilometres of federal, regional and local roads across Russia by the end of this year. In the regions, including Donbass and Novorossiya, we laid over 188 million square metres of asphalt pavement. These are all record-high numbers which make a meaningful contribution to developing our national road network and improving the quality of life for our people.

I would like to emphasise that having reliable transport arteries is a matter of principle and has strategic importance for Russia. This is why we all agree that our road construction plans must be carried out in full.

These priorities include developing the Vostok motorway onwards by extending it to Yekaterinburg and Tyumen, and building bypass roads around Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo and Kansk.

We must pay special attention to removing bottlenecks along the Rossiya road in Russia’s Far East, including the approaches to Vladivostok, which is expected to substantially expand our logistics and transport capabilities.

In addition, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the new road sections must ensure a driver-friendly environment for our people, offer modern amenities and reliable cell phone coverage. We have a lot of work to do, but I have no doubt that we will deliver on our goals as we always do, with proper professionalism.

In conclusion, I would like to once again thank everyone who contributes to developing the M-12 Vostok motorway. I wish you every success in your new and ambitious undertakings for the benefit of Russia and our people.

I suggest that we move on to the opening ceremony.

Mr Khusnullin has the floor. Go ahead, please.

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Vladimir Putin: Dear friends,

I would like to congratulate everyone once again on this event – and mainly the builders of course, because this is the result of their work. They did a great job under very difficult conditions. I congratulate you, and wish you every success, as almost every speaker said.

All of us are motivated to continue this work. We will discuss these issues now with our colleagues at a meeting on implementing national projects and reaching national development goals. Infrastructure development is definitely one of our main goals.

Thank you! All the best!