Ukraine seeks to link Europe, Asia via new rail tunnel
Xinhua, January 22, 2016 Adjust font size:
Ukraine has completed the first stage of construction of Beskyd railway tunnel, which set to become a new link in the Silk Road connecting Europe and Asia, the country's deputy prime minister said on Thursday.
"The Beskyd tunnel will be the extension of the Silk Road, to which Ukraine has recently joined by launching a container train from the port of Illichivsk in China," Deputy Prime Minister Gennady Zubko said during a ceremony marking the completion of the first stage of the tunnel.
The tunnel, which establishes a transport corridor between Ukraine's western city of Lviv and the Hungarian and Slovak borders, will enable Ukraine to unlock its exports and transit potentials, create new jobs and boost budget revenues, Zubko said.
The tunnel, whose total cost has been estimated by the government at about 90 million U.S. dollars, is scheduled to be completed in 2017 and put into operation in 2018.
The construction of the facility is jointly funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank and Ukraine's State Railway Company Ukrzaliznytsya.
On Friday, Ukraine has launched a cargo train to China along the Silk Road via Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Endit