Deputy Chairman of the Board for Investments and Strategic Planning of the State Company Avtodor Georgy Chicherin elaborated on the economic effects of the construction and operation of the new road with a length of almost 800 kilometers during the session of the first Vladimir Investment Congress / VIC 2020: "Regions of Russia: Time for Unique Opportunities and Effective Solutions".
"The new M-12 Highway will connect the largest regional centers and agglomerations (Moscow, Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod Regions; the Republic of Chuvashia and the Republic of Tatarstan) with the network of highways in the European part of Russia (M-11 Neva, Central Ring Road, M-3 Ukraine, M-1 Belarus, and M-4 Don Highways). We expect an enormous macroeconomic effect (about RUB 2.4 trillion), which will be achieved through the integration of regions, the products of which tend to be transported by road, within an eight-hour accessibility zone.
According to the Strategy for Spatial Development of the Russian Federation, M-12 Highway will pass through promising centers of economic growth and will ensure a two-fold reduction in travel time between these centers to help attract up to 70 million tons of internal cargo traffic in the first year of operation. Moreover, this route will be highly sought after by the most developed regions in the Urals.
With regard to the international transport corridor Europe – Western China, the main part of which will be the M-12 Highway, it will incorporate the main portfolio of products manufactured in the cluster industries: 70% of the automotive industry in Russia, 50% of the aerospace and defense industry, 40% of metallurgy, 30% of machine building and instrument making, 25% of oil refineries, chemical, petrochemical and gas-chemical industries; production of mineral fertilizers; 20% of food production and agricultural industries.
In the case of private trips and tours, the resultant increase in traffic capacity after the highway construction, increased traffic speed, improved safety and quality of travel will lead to an increase in the tourist flow between the largest cultural centers of the country and will open up new tourist opportunities. For instance, the route from Moscow to the Kazan Kremlin will take about seven hours, and it will be possible to get to the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin in four hours," emphasized Georgy Chicherin.
Additional turnover in the tourism industry will have a direct effect on GDP through the generation of additional profits, depreciation and taxes, and creation of new working places. The compounding effect of increased tourist traffic will be RUB 114 billion and will create about 5,000–7,000 new jobs.
Totally, it is planned to create about 80,000 new jobs during the M-12 Highway construction phase and up to 5,000 more jobs in the operation period.
The road infrastructures will include not only recreation areas, where the drivers can go for a walk or have a meal at a safe distance from the highway, but also full-fledged roadside service facilities, such as parking lots, restaurants, and motel services.
The construction and commissioning of roadside service zones will be arranged in stages, taking into account the demand of road users for the services offered. 8 multifunctional zones (MFZ) have been scheduled until 2024 and 24 MFZs until 2027.
Along with the emergency commissioners services, travelling on this speedy highway will actually provide a qualitatively new infrastructure product.
