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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Baisarov, your company is well-known. How do you assess the situation? How is the work progressing?

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bamtonnelstroy-Most Ruslan Baisarov: Mr President, thank you very much for your time. Allow me to report on the activities of the Bamtonnelstroy Group of Companies.

First, let me provide you with a brief history of the company. Bamtonnelstroy was established in 1975, by order of the Ministry of Transport Construction, to undertake the construction of all tunnels on the Baikal-Amur Mainline, including the Severomuysky Tunnel, the most complex tunnel in the world and the longest one in Russia.

Vladimir Putin: 15 kilometres?

Ruslan Baisarov: 15.3 kilometres. This is the most difficult tunnel in the world in terms of boring. A very challenging project.

Over its fifty-year history, our company has successfully completed over 3,000 unique infrastructure projects throughout the country, including 200 kilometres of tunnels, 45 kilometres of which belong to the Severomuysky Tunnel. The Severomuysky Tunnel is 15.3 kilometres long, and the culvert and vertical adits total 45 kilometres. Can you imagine this? I repeat, this is the most complex tunnel.

This is the geography of our projects. All the tunnels on the BAM were built by our experienced workers. They are still working today, passing on their knowledge to the new generation of tunnel builders.

Mr President, I would ask you to direct your attention to page 16. We have completed the construction of the first two cross-border bridges between Russia and China: the Blagoveshchensk –Heihe motorway bridge, and the Nizhneleninskoye – Tongjiang railway bridge.

Since the completion of the project, investments in new production facilities in the Jewish Autonomous Region have reached 730 billion rubles. In other words, we completed the bridge and as a result, attracted investors. This is the Jewish Autonomous Region.

Together with the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East, the authorities of the Amur Region and Russian Railways, we started working on the design and construction of a new railway bridge between Russia and China, the Dzhalinda – Mohe bridge. Once the project is completed, we expect a significant export cargo flow of up to 20 million tonnes from Sakha (Yakutia) and the Amur Region without impacting the Eastern Operating Domain.

We have completed a bridge over the Zeya River in the Amur Region 13 months ahead of the contractual term. It has a total length of 10 kilometres, including the 2-kilometre bridge section.

Your decisions have enabled us to start building ahead of schedule. Remember, it was you who ordered [Finance Minister] Siluanov to advance the allocation of funds. This enabled us to buy inert materials and metal structures right away and launch construction without delay. This way, we did not suffer from fluctuating prices since we managed to launch construction on time.

Vladimir Putin: How many people did you have working there? About 2,000?

Ruslan Baisarov: Yes, that is correct. The Governor of the Amur Region was proactive in his efforts: he held videoconferences with us every other week for three years. This is how it all happened. Yury Trutnev [Deputy Prime Minister – Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District] went there every three months. There was a challenging period for us. You will recall that a national emergency was declared in 2021 when the water level rose by eight metres. But we surmounted these challenges without suffering any losses or casualties and completed the project.

We completed the only cable-stayed bridge along the M-12 motorway. This was the first time our bridge builders used sliding formwork for erecting pillars.

Vladimir Putin: Are you talking about the Vladimir Region?

Ruslan Baisarov: Yes, exactly. You were the one who opened this bridge. It happened eight months ahead of schedule. We completed the bridge over the Sura nearby, also eight months ahead of the contractual deadline.

Vladimir Putin: What a beautiful, sturdy bridge.

Ruslan Baisarov: Beautiful indeed. We completed it. It connects the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the Chuvash Republic.

Vladimir Putin: Does it have four lanes?

Ruslan Baisarov: Yes, indeed.

As for the ongoing projects, we launched metro construction in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and plan to have 9,000 specialists on the site during the peak stage. Most of them come from Siberia, and there will be our own employees who know how to build tunnels too. Of course, this will serve as a major development and investment driver for the region, creating jobs and generating higher tax revenue.

Vladimir Putin: The name here is Valentina, is that right?

Ruslan Baisarov: Yes, there is a tradition to give female names to tunnel-boring shields. We called the second one Yekaterina, since this is where this famous concrete industry worker and hero of Socialist Labour comes from. There is also Valentina.

After completing the second Baikal Tunnel, our specialists moved, under the guidance of the Russian Railways, to Chegdomyn, which is 940 kilometres from Khabarovsk, to build the second Duse-Alin Tunnel. We will build it by drilling and blasting, using mining techniques, since we will be operating in a permafrost environment.

Mr President, you attended the ceremony to complete the construction of the second Baikal tunnel. We will hold a similar ceremony for the second Dusse-Alin tunnel, and we are asking you to attend it.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Ruslan Baisarov: You know that it will be a major event for tunnel builders. Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: How many kilometres is it?

Ruslan Baisarov: Two kilometres. Its distinguishing feature is that it has been built in permafrost where tunnelling shields cannot be used.

Thank you very much for the high assessment of our tunnel builders’ work.

Vladimir Putin: They have received state awards.

Ruslan Baisarov: They have, and they are grateful.

Vladimir Putin: They deserved it for their hard work.

Ruslan Baisarov: Yes, it is true. Thank you very much.

We are building eight checkpoints on the border with Kazakhstan, China and other countries.

We are working under the Russian Railways’ guidance to complete the first stage of the Novorossiysk Transport Hub. Following its completion, the hub’s throughput capacity will grow to 8 million tonnes.

We have joined hands with Gazprombank to propose that the second stage, which will increase the capacity to 43 million tonnes, should be implemented with private investment.

As per your instructions, we have started building protective structures in three population centres in the Amur Region.

Vladimir Putin: Will these be large structures?

Ruslan Baisarov: Yes, as high as seven metres. You are aware of the problem with annual [floods].

Vladimir Putin: Yes, of course.

Ruslan Baisarov: We are still in the process of constructing two bridges, an automobile bridge and a railway one, in Kaliningrad, as you may remember.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, across the Pregolya River.

Ruslan Baisarov: We also have a social infrastructure programme. We have started building a community centre in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky at the request of the Kamchatka governor. You know the place.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, I do.

Ruslan Baisarov: The Khabarovsk Territory governor sent a request to us, and we joined forces with Gazprombank to build the largest art museum in the Far East. Its collection, which dates back to 1902, includes about 17,000 unique works of art.

Vladimir Putin: 1902?

Ruslan Baisarov: Yes, this is when the collection began.

Vladimir Putin: When do you plan to complete this project?

Ruslan Baisarov: We plan to complete it in 2027. The governor has allocated a land plot right near a church on the embankment, in a very beautiful location with a view of the river. These paintings will be exhibited there. It is a very beautiful project.

Vladimir Putin: Very good.

Ruslan Baisarov: In conclusion, I would like to brief you on the eight key projects we have completed over the past six years. You are well aware of them all.

Vladimir Putin: Please.

Ruslan Baisarov: Six of them were finished during a most difficult period for the country and the world, during the coronavirus period.

Vladimir Putin: The pandemic.

Ruslan Baisarov: Yes, the Covid pandemic.

Vladimir Putin: The builders continued working. Good, congratulations.

Ruslan Baisarov: Thank you very much.