The Presidential Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation in the Urals Federal District, Evgeniy Kuyvashev gave a start to the beginning of the construction of the unique bridge across the river Nadym

The solemn opening ceremony of the construction of the bridge over the river Nadym which took place in the city of Nadym in the Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous District, was attended by the heads of the regions of the Urals Federal District, by the representatives of the federal ministries and departments, by the companies such as the Russian Railways, Gazprom, Novatek, and by the foreign partners of the Corporation, including the world-famous German engineering company, the DB International GmbH and the Czech-Spanish construction company the OHL ZS.

In the opening of the ceremony, the Presidential Plenipotentiary Evgeniy Kuyvashev said: "Today is a truly significant and memorable day. The "Ural Industrial - Ural Polar" Corporation together with the company "Mostostroy-12" begin the construction of the combined bridge over the river Nadym, almost a 1.5 kilometers long.

I am convinced that this event is of a key importance for the further development of the economy and the social sphere of the Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous District and of Urals Federal District as a whole.

A commissioning of the bridge will mean the formation of a completely new system of transport support to the residents and businesses of the Nadym and the Nadym region. The bridge will link the Nadym with the "main land", and will provide an adequate transport corridor to the east. As a result, we will get a new quality of municipal economy together with the fundamentally different possibilities of its social services.

For example, according to the calculations of the "Ural Industrial - Ural Polar" Corporation, the formation of a new transport corridor the Northern latitudinal railway, which started today, will reduce costs of the medicine by nearly a third and will also creation new work places - more than 1,200 construction workers are will be employed here, at the construction site. And if we add to this number people who are working at the enterprises of Ural, Siberia and Trans-Ural region supply the materials for the construction, this number will be at least three or four times higher!

Today is also a historical day for the "Ural Industrial - Ural Polar" Corporation. Like I said earlier, this is the beginning of the formation of the Northern latitudinal railway, initiated by the Corporation. The Northern latitudinal railway will connect the east and the west of the Yamal, and will provide the logistical support in the development of the Polar areas of Russia. These will form the basis for the further economic growth of the Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous District, which is a key region for the Russian economy.

But that's not all!

The Formation of the Northern latitudinal railway, which has started today, is of a key geopolitical importance for the Russian Federation. This highway via port of Sabetta on the Yamal Peninsula would be connected with the Northern sea route, which is strategically important for the future of our country. It will be a critical transport element in ensuring the Russian national interests in the Arctic."

In his turn, the General Director of the "Ural Industrial - Ural Polar" Corporation Alexander Beletsky recalled that: "The key focus of our work is the formation of a new and efficient transport infrastructure. The Corporation together with the Federal Agency for Railway Transport, the Russian Railways and the Gazprom initiated the formation of a logistic corridor the Northern latitudinal railway which will run from the station Obskaya to the station Korotchaevo in the Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous District. The experts already call these 700 kilometers of upgraded and newly constructed sections of railway "the road of life". We hardly need to explain to the locals of the Yamal, why is it so.

The Northern latitudinal railway, the construction of which we begin today – is our contribution, the contribution of the Urals Federal District in the realization of an important geopolitical goal facing today's Russia.

By the formation of the railway which in the future will be linked to the Northern sea route in the port of Sabetta on the Yamal Peninsula, we will provide an effective presence of our country in the Arctic - the key region for the global economy of the twenty-first century."

The participants of the construction were also greeted by the governor of the Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous District, Dmitry Kobylkin and the founder of the company - the general contractor "Mostostroy-12", Alexander Zabarsky.

Later on Evgeniy Kuyvashev, Dmitry Kobylkin, Alexander Beletsky and Alexander Zabarsky laid a commemorative capsule dedicated to the beginning of the construction of the bridge.

The combined bridge, which includes a single-track railway line and a highway, will become the largest artificial construction of the transport infrastructure in the Nadym region. The bridge will be 1.334 km long, with the length of the span - 110 m. The commissioning of the bridge is planned for the April 2015.

The construction of the bridge promises to be one of the most ambitious construction projects, not only on the Yamal Peninsula, but throughout the Urals Federal District. The main difficulty in the unique construction of the bridge is in the harsh Arctic conditions, and in its far-off location from the company-producers of basic materials needed for the construction. In this regard, the decision to prepare the hydraulic concrete in place was made. Due to the high temperature permafrost, for the greater strength and stability of the structures, the unit reinforced concrete piles are will be used as the base supports of the bridge, and the supporting piles themselves are will be constructed in the water from crafts.

The social importance of the bridge construction is totally invaluable.

In the future, the bridge will provide a crossing over the river Nadim by the railway line "Salekhard - Nadym" and by the road "Surgut - Salekhard".

There are no bridge crossings between the riversides at the moment. The locals are forced to use the "winter roads" in the winter period to cross the river and in the summer the local people use ferries and barges.

The pontoon crossings are also used for the road transport, unfortunately they are seasonal and are have to be dismantled every spring and autumn, and such facilities are extremely unreliable and even dangerous in operation.

At the moment, due to the difficulty of delivery, the cost of consumer goods, including food and medicines, is much higher than in the European part of the country. All these factors greatly slow the pace of the socio-economic development of the Northern cities. Already, the residents of the Yamal called the future highway "the road of life" because it will radically change the quality of their lives.

Not only the local people of the Yamal are interested in the realization of this project, many local companies are already predicting their future plans for the transportation of goods using the bridge over the river Nadym. The new transport corridor, which will be constructed by the "Ural Industrial - Ural Polar" Corporation, will open new possibilities for the transportation of products of enterprises of the Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous District to the Central Federal District and to the North-Western Federal District, as well as the transportation for export through the ports in the Northwest.

The value of the Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous District is determined, above all, by its rich natural deposits. In this regard, the main goods which are will be carried across the river will be the mineral resources of the Yamal Peninsula, and the place of their location is near the railway line under the construction. It is predicted that the traffic volume of gas condensate and oil products by the year 2025 will be increased to 20 million tons.

Overall, the bridge over the river Nadym will:

• Create the transportation infrastructure within the county

• Ensure communication between the settlements

• Involve the young professionals in the building and construction sector

• Improve the living standards by creating new jobs

• Promote the development of raw materials of the Yamal Peninsula by ensuring access to the fields and by simplifying the transportation of goods

• Change the demographics

• Ensure the growth of tax revenues to the budgets at all levels

It should be noted that carrying out the construction within the beautiful region of our country, the conservation of the pristine nature of the North is a priority for the Corporation. The great attention is paid to the preservation of the cultural heritage of indigenous people and the ecology of the environment of the region.

Breeding is the main occupation of the locals, so the construction plan provides 11 special transitions in the places of migration of the reindeer. A complex for the protection of fish stocks is prepared and will be implemented; all of the equipment will be refueled outside of the floodplains on specially prepared areas with the fuel tanks provided. The environmental monitoring activities are planned for the period of the construction.