MOSCOW, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has approved the construction of a new toll highway, which is to become part of the Europe-Western China transport corridor, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov was quoted as saying Friday.
According to Akimov, the construction of the toll highway between Moscow and Kazan, the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan on the Volga River will begin in 2020, and the entire highway will be built by 2027.
He said that from the beginning of 2020, work will begin on the construction of 145-km-long new high-speed sections between Moscow and Vladimir, the capital of a region neighboring the Moscow region from the east.
According to the Russian Transport Ministry, transporting cargo along the Europe-Western China highway at 8,500 km in length will take some 10 days.
This compares to 14 days by the 11,500-km-long Trans-Siberian Railway and 45 days by the 24,000 km sea route through the Suez Canal, a ministry statement said.