Yakutsk, Russia - An International Conference on “Complex development of the infrastructure of North-east Russia” took place in Yakutsk August 17 to 19. On the invitation of the President of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), the Universal Peace Federation participated in the work of the conference. Among a number of subjects discussed during the event, participants discussed the potential of creating a tunnel under the Bering Strait to connect Russia and US.
Since foundation of the Universal Peace Federation in 2005, Dr. Sun Myung Moon has been actively promoting this mega-project; at numerous international forums he called upon powerful nations urging them to support creating this transport link, a “Bridge of Peace” between the Chukchi Peninsula and Alaska. In his mind, the economic impact of the said construction will be overshadowed by its intercultural and geopolitical value; it can become a connecting link between nations of five continents.
Among the participants in the conference were representatives of the Council of Federation of the Russian Federation; the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation; Ministry of Economic Development; Ministry of Regions; Ministry of Energy; Ministry of Transportation; Ministry of Education and Science; Ministry of Tourism; Russia Railway Ministry; Russia Motor Transportation Ministry; Federal Tariff Service; Chamber of Commerce and Industry; executive and legislation bodies of 18 regions of Russia; representatives of USA, Germany, UK, India, Israel, China, South Korea, Poland, Czech Republic, Finland, Japan, Sweden, and international organizations; leading scientists from Russia and abroad; heads of Russian and international production companies in the fields of industry, energy, transportation; and businessmen.
The idea of creating an integrated global land transportation system connecting five continents of the planet came into being at the end of the 19th century. The current 21st century with its technological and financial facilities makes it possible to consider the realization of the project. The modern version of a transcontinental highway connecting Eurasia and America through the Bering Strait includes creating a system of communication including a high-speed railway, highway, electricity transmission lines, gas pipelines, and fiber-optic communication lines. A 6,000-km transcontinental transportation network will need to be built. In the Russian territory, the route would link Yakutsk to Magadan to Uelen, a total of 4,000 km. On the American side it would go through Nome and Fairbanks, Alaska, and British Columbia, Canada (about 2,000 km). Both sides would be connected by a tunnel under the Bering Strait, about 100 km long.
A transcontinental highway involving cardinal improvements to the transportation and energy infrastructure can become the key strategic element driving the social and economical development of the Russian Far East and Russia in general, since it would forge such an important link in the system of international transportation streams that carry about 3 percent of the world's freight traffic between East Asia, Russia, and North America.
Participants in the conference decided to consider creating a transcontinental highway between Eurasia and America with a tunnel across the Bering Strait a primary force in the complex development of the infrastructure of northern Russia and polar territories of the Northern Hemisphere.
An intergovernmental working group would need to be formed to promote such a transcontinental highway, including representatives of the nations who would be potential partners in the project. The moderators of the conference (Senator Aslambek Aslakhanov and the Chairperson of the Council for Researching Productive Forces, Viktor Razbegin) suggested to the participants that they urge the heads of states and governments of Asia-Pacific Economic Collaboration (APEC) to consider discussing the project of a transcontinental highway at the APEC Congress in 2012.
For more information on the subject please see the web-site: www.sakhaforum.ru.
See also updated analyses of Russian and US and Canadian perspectives about the project.