Donetsk, Jun 14 — DAN. A new railway will be built in the Zaporozhye region to run parallel to the existing network which links Crimea and the Rostov region, an official said on the sidelines of the Petersburg International Economic Forum on Wednesday.
“At this point, we have to clarify that the railways of the four new regions will be integrated in one holding, ” said Zaporozhye region Economic Development Minister Yury Guskov. “The Zaporozhye region has Melitopol Railways which will become a branch of this holding; project appraisal is in the works for the rail link between Crimea and the Rostov region via Melitopol.”
Part of the new railway will run parallel to the existing one; siting is underway, and geological works and project development will be launched, he added.
The Novorossiya Railways state-owned company will start operation by yearend. The contactor companies to build the new rail link might be named by the end of this autumn, the official said.
In late May, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed the resolution establishing the federal state unitary enterprise “Novorossiya Railways” to consolidate the rail networks of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.*jk