OREANDA-NEWS. On 10 June 2008 was announced, that the Tender Commission chaired by St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko accepted the bid proposal from the Nevsky Meridian consortium to undertake the concession to construct the Western High-Speed Diameter (WHSD). The consortium includes Bouygues, Egis, Hochtief, Strabag, Basic Element and Mostootryad 19.

“WHSD is a much-needed project for the city. Its implementation will take traffic away from the historic center, connect the Northern and Southern segments of the Ring Road and increase the handling capacity of the sea port,” says Valentina Matvienko.  “The project itself is unique - not only for Russia, but for the global infrastructure construction industry.  It can be managed only by the largest and most experienced companies.”

“For our companies, the opportunity to undertake Russia’s first PPP project is both a big honor and a major responsibility,” says Gulzhan Moldazhanova, CEO of Basic Element. “Nevsky Meridian is a very strong consortium, combining market knowledge, modern construction and engineering technologies, significant financial resources and experience in implementing similar projects throughout the world,” she adds.

“This is not only the largest project of this type in the world, but probably the most complicated in terms of execution. Tunnels and bridges make up about half of the Diameter’s length, and the highway passes through established city infrastructure,” says Hans-Peter Haselsteiner, President of Strabag.

WHSD is a high-speed city highway with multi-level exits, mostly eight-lane, with a planned speed averaging 120 km per hour and a maximum capacity of 94,000 vehicles per day. The overall length of this toll road is 46.6 km.  Once constructed, WHSD, together with the Ring Road, will complete the first transport ring around St. Petersburg.