Mikhail Mishustin: The Efficient Transport System project will comprise nine federal projects aimed at creating infrastructure for expanding foreign trade and enhancing our territories’ connectivity, so that people commute to work and school quickly and comfortably and choose the most convenient option for travelling around the country.
Mikhail Mishustin chairs a strategic session on the Efficient Transport System and Unmanned Aircraft Systems national projects
Mikhail Mishustin chairs a strategic session on the Efficient Transport System and Unmanned Aircraft Systems national projects
Mikhail Mishustin chairs a strategic session on the Efficient Transport System and Unmanned Aircraft Systems national projects
Mikhail Mishustin chairs a strategic session on the Efficient Transport System and Unmanned Aircraft Systems national projects
Mikhail Mishustin’s opening remarks:
Good afternoon, colleagues.
Today is a special day. Fifty years ago today, the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union signed a resolution on launching the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM). Following that decision, we have built 3,000 kilometres of railway lines and 60 population centres in permafrost, creating a new route towards the World Oceans.
The development of the mainline resumed as per the President’s instruction within the Eastern Operating Domain project. As a result, the throughput capacity on the line has been increased to over 170 million tonnes. There are plans to increase it to 270 million tonnes within nine years. Construction is ongoing, in accordance with a decision adopted in April 2024. The project has been estimated at over 3.7 trillion roubles. It includes the construction of new tunnels, crossing points and bridges, including across the Amur River, and the renovation of bay platforms and stations. This will allow our mining and processing enterprises to increase traffic and, more importantly, cargo delivery speed via BAM and the Trans-Siberian Railway. Therefore, we must ensure the unconditional attainment of the planned figures and complete all our plans on schedule.
The attainment of these and other goals is stipulated in the Efficient Transport System national project, which we are preparing. It will comprise nine federal projects aimed at creating infrastructure for expanding foreign trade and enhancing our territories’ connectivity, so that people commute to work and school quickly and comfortably and choose the most convenient option, including suburban and long-distance trains, for travelling around the country.
Russia has the third largest rail network in the world and leads the world in terms of usage rate. Our railways account for a third of passenger transportation and a larger part of cargo delivery. The construction of high-speed lines will offer new opportunities for our people and businesses. They will cut travel time considerably. In particular, the President has instructed to cut travel time between Moscow and St Petersburg to about two hours.
A concession agreement on the implementation of that project was signed last Friday, kicking off the construction of an approximately 680-kilometre-long railway line.
I would like to mention the contribution of Sergei Sobyanin, German Gref an Vitaly Savelyev to preparing that complex project. It is the first but an extremely important step.
I hope that all our plans related to implementing the idea of building the first high-speed rail line in Russia will be implemented.
There are many other projects. We will develop the Greater Northern Sea Route. This important national transport route connects the country’s western and eastern regions and is the main route for deliveries to distant Arctic territories. This is why we should accelerate the expansion of our ice-breaker fleet, which is of essence for all-season navigation, northern deliveries and trade with Asia Pacific countries. The use of our sea ports should be comfortable for shippers, which means that we must continue to build modern terminals, transhipping centres and access roads.
We must also modernise checkpoints and promote the use of electronic documents. Vehicle inspection time must be reduced to 10 minutes at 50 checkpoints.
The President has also set a goal to increase domestic air traffic by 50 percent by 2030. To achieve this, we will upgrade the infrastructure of over a third of Russia’s airport network. These improvements will impact at least 75 airfields, enabling carriers to open new routes and flights without connections in Moscow.
Additionally, we will support the reconstruction of inland waterways and ensure the industry has qualified personnel.
It is important to focus on training young specialists in various fields. This objective is part of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems national project, which was launched in January this year.
The implementation of this project will create conditions for producing a wide range of devices and expanding their use across all sectors of the economy. This will lead to the development of an innovative industry, providing new opportunities for both businesses and society as a whole.
This technology will enable monitoring of industrial facilities, power lines, and pipelines. It will also allow for the surveillance of forests, reservoirs, and landfills to prevent emergency situations in a timely manner. In agriculture, unmanned aerial systems can be used to treat fields against pests, monitor crops, and assess the efficiency of harvesting machines. Additionally, these systems will address various challenges in hard-to-reach regions.
By the end of the decade, the production of unmanned vehicles in Russia is expected to increase more than fivefold. It is crucial to actively implement our own advanced technologies, energy systems, power plants, and modern communication methods. Equally important is the need to localise the production of popular models within our country as much as possible.
To achieve this, we will support both developers and purchasers of such equipment. This support will include grants for design documentation, subsidies for research and production centres, and the execution of government contracts.
We must continue developing infrastructure to support drone operations and ensure their flights within a unified airspace. This involves reducing certification times, simplifying the procedures for obtaining them, and eliminating unnecessary administrative barriers. The President has emphasised the importance of these measures.
