Russia's freight rail company OJSC Russian Railways has launched a tender process to hire an advisor for the Moscow-  Kazan High Speed Rail PPP project.

The preferred bidder will have to carry out engineering surveys, project development, route demarcation planning and project documentation for the construction of the Moscow - Kazan section of the Moscow - Kazan - Yekaterinburg High-Speed Railway Line in 2015-2016.

The initial (maximum) contract price for the execution of the work is RUB20.79 billion (US$341 million) excluding VAT. The tender will be held on 16 April 2015.

The 770 km line will pass through 7 subjects of Russia with a total population of over 25 million people. The project includes 15 stops, including Moscow, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Cheboksary and Kazan. The line will be the largest infrastructure project in Russia today.

In mid October 2014, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Russian Railways (RZD), the State Committee on Development and Reform of the People's Republic of China, and the Chinese Railways Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of the Moscow-  Kazan High Speed Rail project.

Under the agreed scheme for the project, 30% of the total sum will be funded by Russia, 31% will come jointly from Russian Railways, the Pension Fund and the National Welfare Fund, and private companies will provide 25% of the overall financing. According to sources, Chinese companies could invest around $US 10 billion in the project.

The total project investment is estimated at about RUB1 trillion (US$16.4 billion). 

Travel time from Moscow to Kazan on the high-speed line will be 3.5 hours, while from Nizhny Novgorod to Cheboksary travel time will be 1 hour and to Kazan, 1.5 hours. Annual passenger numbers in the first years of the line's operation are estimated at 10.5 million.

Vladimir Yakunin, the President of Russian Railways, commented:

"The development of high-speed rail is a fundamentally new step in the modernisation of the Russian transport system, one which countries such as Japan, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, China and many others have already taken. International experience confirms that infrastructure development projects greatly stimulate the real economy and the development of small and medium-sized businesses. In announcing this tender, we are confident that both Russian and foreign companies with experience in designing and constructing high-speed railway lines will take part. I am convinced that localising in Russia advanced technologies in the field of railway transport will have a positive impact on the development of the entire economy of the Russian Federation,"