Dardani
Sun, 22nd April 2007, 22:08:58
On Wednesday, April 18, Russia announced plans to build a tunnel across the Bering Straits from Siberia to Alaska. This $12 billion project, in cooperation with the United States and Canada, will deliver oil, gas, and electricity from Russia's huge Siberian natural resources. The transport corridor part of this project alone will run 3700 miles, more than twice the size of "The Chunnel" that currently runs between the United Kingdom and France. The project, also known as World Link, will take about 15 years to complete, and will include a high-speed railway, pipelines, and fiber optic and power cables.
Some critics call World Link a boondoggle, claiming that it would be too hard to implement because Siberia's terrain is among the world's most inhospitable, and the region's current oil and gas resources are not developed enough.
While the tunnel is a project that's been in the works for the past 20 years, project representatives insist that it will now become a reality because of the Russian government's full participation.
World Link is only part of a $65 billion Russian plan that also includes oil and natural gas pipelines to China and Europe.
The idea of building a tunnel or bridge across the Bering Straits first surfaced over 100 years ago during the reign of Czar Nicholas II. It was only revived after the end of Soviet rule in the 1990s.
Government and business representatives from Russian, the United States, and Canada are scheduled to meet on this plan on April 24.
SOURCES:
"Russia plans world's longest tunnel", Yurij Humber and Bradley Cook, Bloomberg URL (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&refer=home&sid=a0bsMii8oKXw)
"Russia unveils $60 billion tunnel vision", Shawn McCarthy, The Globe and Mail, URL: (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070419.wxrtunnel19/BNStory/Business/home)
Some critics call World Link a boondoggle, claiming that it would be too hard to implement because Siberia's terrain is among the world's most inhospitable, and the region's current oil and gas resources are not developed enough.
While the tunnel is a project that's been in the works for the past 20 years, project representatives insist that it will now become a reality because of the Russian government's full participation.
World Link is only part of a $65 billion Russian plan that also includes oil and natural gas pipelines to China and Europe.
The idea of building a tunnel or bridge across the Bering Straits first surfaced over 100 years ago during the reign of Czar Nicholas II. It was only revived after the end of Soviet rule in the 1990s.
Government and business representatives from Russian, the United States, and Canada are scheduled to meet on this plan on April 24.
SOURCES:
"Russia plans world's longest tunnel", Yurij Humber and Bradley Cook, Bloomberg URL (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&refer=home&sid=a0bsMii8oKXw)
"Russia unveils $60 billion tunnel vision", Shawn McCarthy, The Globe and Mail, URL: (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070419.wxrtunnel19/BNStory/Business/home)