Tomsk and Kemerovo regions agreed on Tomsk-Taiga road construction

On October 10, Sergey Zhvachkin and Aman Tuleev, the Governors of the Tomsk and Kemerovo regions, signed the agreement on design, construction and operation of Tomsk-Taiga road.

In order to construct the new facility in the Tomsk Region 12 kilometers of new roadbed will have to be built, 15 kilometers will have to be reconstructed and 26 kilometers of the exisiting road segments will have to be brought into conformity with the regulatory requirements. Five kilometers are to be build and twenty kilometers are to be reconstructed at the Kuzbass territory. The new road will pass through Mirny, Mezheninovka and Basandayka settlements of the Tomsk district.

Sergey Zhvachkin and Aman Tuleev agreed on design and construction of a new facility with the help of public and private partnership tools. The agreement says that Tomsk-Taiga road will allow connecting the Tomsk Region to Kuzbass by the shortest route and therefore to consolidate and extend economic relation both between companies and different communities.

"Today we fixed a two-century old mistake when The Trans-Siberian Railway came by Tomsk because of the emperor's decision," Tomsk Region Governor Sergey Zhvachkin highlighted. "This is not just economic but also social project: we are connecting people who have centuries-old history of friendship and family ties. In the "turbulent 90s" regions lived on their own and now we are at a totally new level of cooperation between regions, after all we, the Siberians, have common interests, aims and objectives."

"Tomsk and Taiga are connected only with a railroad, which is not enough for cargo turnover," Aman Tuleev noted. "That is why we made a decision to build the road which is very important to us. First, many of our young people study at reputable Tomsk universities. Second, Taiga will take on a new lease of life when the road is constructed. We signed not a usual agreement but a beneficial document for both regions' economies."

Governors agreed to set up a work group that will work out all the details of the common project: the construction of Tomsk-Taiga road is planned for 2015.

Also the governors signed an agreement on trade and economic, scientific and technological, social and cultural cooperation. Sergey Zhvachkin and Aman Tuleev agreed on industrial diversification through high technologies, investment activity and exchange of urban development experience, the promotion of close contacts between companies and academic institutes of Tomsk Region and Kuzbass. The agreement also touches upon the cooperation in the sphere of environmental protection, sports and culture.

Visiting Kemerovo region, Sergey Zhvachkin awarded Aman Tuleev with a 70 Years of Tomsk Region jubilee medal. It should be reminded that this year Tomsk guberniya which used to include Kuzbass as well celebrates its 210th anniversary.

For reference:

The Kemerovo region is a key commercial partner of the Tomsk Region: in 2013 common trade turnover of the regions amounted to 20 billions rubles. Basic products exported from the Tomsk Region to Kuzbass are natural gas and petrochemicals, imported goods are coal and confectionery products. The Kemerovo region is also a leader by a number of students in Tomsk universities: now there are about 7.5 thousands of them.

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