Alexander Vorotnikov, Associate Professor at Russia’s Institute of Social Sciences of the Presidential Academy (RANEPA) and Expert Council Coordinator for the Project Office for Arctic Development (PORA), made the case on June 6 for building the tunnel under the Bering Strait, in an opinion piece published on TASS news agency’s Russian-language site. With the suggestive title, “Billions under Permafrost: What’s behind Russia and the US’s plans to build the Bering Tunnel,” he keyed off the announcement two days before by Kirill Dmitriev, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, that the design phase for the tunnel would begin.
“Today, this large-scale project is perceived more as a distant strategic prospect. However, history proves that many once-fantastic infrastructure ideas eventually become reality,” Vorotnikov wrote. And while the difficulties (technological, climatic, financial, etc.) are real, “the development of such projects always poses ambitious challenges for governments, engineers, and economists, stimulating the search for breakthrough solutions….
“From an economic perspective, a land route between Eurasia and North America could become a significantly more efficient means of moving cargo compared to current complex logistics systems. According to preliminary estimates, the corridor could redirect up to 3-5% of global maritime trade. The launch of such a transport artery could provide a powerful impetus to the development of both Chukotka [Russia] and Alaska, attracting billions in investment, creating thousands of jobs, and dramatically improving the connectivity of these remote territories,” he argued.
