The cost of the highway under construction from Moscow to Kazan will increase by about 200 billion rubles compared to the planned amount, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said in an interview with Vedomosti. Initially, the project was estimated at 623 billion rubles.
According to Khusnullin, the rise in prices will be affected by the rise in the cost of metal (an additional 30 billion rubles will be required), as well as an increase in salaries for builders (an additional 46 billion rubles). In addition, the route was lengthened by 15 km to connect with the already existing M7 Volga highway near Kazan and exit to Yekaterinburg, and karst rocks were discovered along the way.
The Deputy Prime Minister called the rise in the cost of materials “the most important threat to construction.” He stressed that if the price continues to grow by 15–20% or more, then the already launched construction programs will have to be cut. At the same time, according to him, if due to the increase in the cost of materials to stop running construction projects, “the consequences will be very bad.”
In addition, due to the pandemic, the inflow of labor resources into the country has dropped, and an increase in labor productivity, while maintaining the current situation, should not be expected earlier than in two or three years.
Construction of the M12 highway began in 2021, with completion scheduled for 2024. In the future, the route may be extended to Novosibirsk with access to Mongolia.
Source: Rosbalt
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