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€880 million for new Murmansk railway

28 km of new railway in Murmansk might end up costing more than €800 million

Two companies are fighting for the construction contract on a new 28 km long railway line along the Kola Bay.

Location

Only the companies Stroygazkonsulting and Story-Trest have been approved to take part in a tender on the construction of a 28 km long railway line along the western shore of the Kola Bay, a key part of the long-discussed Murmansk Transport Hub project. While Stroygazkonsulting is controlled by billionair Ziyad Manasir, the Story-Trest company is part of the corporate empire of Gennady Timchenko, Prime.ru reports.

The companies are reportedly offering to build the railway for between €800-880 million. The project also includes the construction of a bridge across the great Tuloma river.

The railway will lead to Lavna on the western side of the Kola Bay and be an important transport connection to new industrial plants in the area. Among the new facilities planned built are a 20 million ton capacity coal terminal and a 350,000 TEU container terminal. There are also plans for a 35 million ton capacity oil terminal.

As previously reported, oil major Rosneft has signaled that it will take a leading role in the Murmansk Transport Hub initiative.