Int'l conference in Kazan to discuss Europe-China transport corridor

KAZAN, July 6 (Itar-Tass) -- Kazan, the capital city of Russia's
republic of Tatarstan, hosts an international conference of Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries dedicated to problems of
the creation of a transport corridor that will link Europe and Western
China, and its role in SCO integration processes, the press office of the
republican ministry of transport told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.
The conference was organized by the Volga customs administration, the
federal customs service and republic's ministry of transport.
"Participants in the conference will discuss the role of transport
corridors in boosting investment attractiveness of Russian regions, as
well as a concept of the development of Russia's customs service till the
year 2020. The conference will also look at Tatarstan's biggest transport
and logistics projects and programs," the press office said.
The international transport corridor Europe-Western China is a project
that has no analogues across the globe. It will link Russia's second
largest city of St. Petersburg and China's port of Lianyungang. Its total
length will be 8,445 kilometres, of which 2,233 kilometres in Russia,
2,787 kilometres - in Kazakhstan, and 3,425 kilometres - in China. Its
basic advantage as compared with the existing transport corridors, such as
the Trans-Siberian motor way or a sea route via the Suez Canal, is a
shorter travel time. Thus, its takes 45 days to get from Europe to China
via the Suez Canal, 14 days - via the Tran-Siberian motor way, while it
will take just ten days to reach the European border from China's
Lianyungang.
The project will ensure freight traffic along three basic routes, i.e.
China-Kazakhstan, China-Central Asia, and China-Kazakhstan-Russia-Western
Europe.