Skip to main content

Key Russian road construction complete

Construction work on the Central Section of Russia’s Western High-Speed Diameter (WHSD) in St Petersburg is complete, with some small detail work now being finished off. The WHSD connects the Southern, Central and Northern sections of St Petersburg and will open to traffic at the end of December. VTB Capital was a key participant in funding the construction of the Central Section and is a major shareholder in the consortium that will operate the entire WHSD route.
December 5, 2016 Read time: 3 mins
Construction work on the Central Section of Russia’s Western High-Speed Diameter (WHSD) in St Petersburg is complete, with some small detail work now being finished off. The WHSD connects the Southern, Central and Northern sections of St Petersburg and will open to traffic at the end of December. VTB Capital was a key participant in funding the construction of the Central Section and is a major shareholder in the consortium that will operate the entire WHSD route.

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russian Federation, took part in the opening ceremony. It was also attended by president and chairman of the management board of VTB Bank Andrey Kostin; plenipotentiary envoy to the Northwestern Federal District Nikolay Tsukanov; the governor of Saint Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko; deputy minister of Transport of Russia Nikolai Asaul, and head of the Russian Federal Road Transport Agency Roman Starovoit.

The construction of the Central Part of the WHSD and the operation of the highway falls under the Northern Capital Highway private-public partnership. Northern Capital Highway is a consortium consisting of VTB Capital as the majority shareholder, alongside OJSC Gazprombank and others. Investment into the project totalled more than RUB 120 billion.

The WHSD will cut congestion and journey times for drivers in the city. It will relieve the existing highways of the city by managing the traffic through diversion of freight transportation from the seaport of St Petersburg directly to federal highways. It creates an easy two-way access between Pulkovo airport and the business centre of the city.

Andrey Kostin, president and chairman of the Management Board of VTB Group said, “The WHSD is one of the largest and most technologically advanced PPP toll-road projects in Russia and the world. The highway will achieve major infrastructure goals for St Petersburg and will be a key part of the federal transport system.”

“The Western High-Speed Diameter” is the first inter-city toll highway in Russia. The highway is 46km long and consists of three parts connecting the Northern, Central and Southern parts of St Petersburg. The opening of the Central Part of WHSD spanning over 12km will make an entire highway operational.

Northern Capital Highway, an infrastructure consortium including VTB Capital and OJSC Gazprombank is implementing a private-public partnership with the city of Saint-Petersburg. According to the agreement, the company is exercising the functions of financing and construction of the Central Part of the Western High-Speed Diameter. A signed loan agreement with a syndicate of banks including VTB Capital, Gazprombank, the State Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). Northern Capital Highway has received the operating rights for the entire WHSD.

Related Content

  • Highway developments to boost east-west transport
    April 4, 2012
    Huge highway developments are being planned and carried out to further improve East-West transport, with Central Asia a key region as Patrick Smith reports History was made in late 2010, when one of the biggest road building projects ever envisaged in Eastern Europe was given the green-light. It was the occasion when Russian president Dmitry Medvedev signed a law that would allow his country to build its segment of a huge highway around the Black Sea. The idea is to complete the 7,140km highway, wi
  • A key section of highway is now open in Romania
    July 26, 2012
    In Romania the northern section of the bypass around the city of Constanta is open to traffic. The bypass forms part of the Pan-European Road Corridor IV and work on this section was financed by the European Bank for reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The southern stretch of the 23km bypass was completed in 2011. Now it is complete, the bypass will carry heavy port traffic away from Constanta. It will also provide a free-flowing route for tourist traffic from Romanian capital Bucharest and the north of
  • Increased infrastructure spending
    February 22, 2012
    With economies booming in the BRIC countries and other regions, spending on infrastructure is at a high - Patrick Smith reports As economic crisis grips much of the world, many countries are still spending billions on infrastructure to improve transportation. While the USA and Europe struggle with debt problems (and this has affected much of the rest of the world) the development of highways, airport, ports and other infrastructure is gathering pace in other regions to boost economic developments.
  • Order for world's largest TBM
    April 10, 2012
    Russian operator company NCC (Nevskaya Concession Company) has placed an order with German manufacturer Herrenknecht for the world's largest tunnel boring machine (TBM). The Mixshield TBM, for construction of the Orlovski Tunnel, "will surpass all previous TBMs" with a diameter of 19.25m and it is designed to construct a mega-tunnel to link both halves of the centre of Russia's second city St Petersburg under the River Neva and speed up traffic.