RIA Novosti: JAPAN READY TO TAKE PART IN BUILDING TUNNEL LINKING MAINLAND, SAKHALIN AND HOKKAIDO
MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti) - Japan is ready to finance the construction of a tunnel between the mainland, Sakhalin island and Hokkaido island, said a source in the Russian Transport Ministry. "The Japanese are ready to build a tunnel for $30-32 million per kilometer [in Russia such construction costs $100 million per km now]," said the source. The draft discussed now implies building a 7-kilometer-long tunnel between Sakhalin and the mainland, and a 42-km tunnel between Sakhalin and Hokkaido. This issue has been discussed at an intergovernmental commission session. "If we don't take a place in international transport corridors, China and Kazakhstan will," said the source. A total of 95% of cargoes dispatched from west to east and vice versa go through the Suez Canal. New transport corridors will considerably cut the time required for cargo delivery.