VTB Bank announced on Tuesday that it has signed a cooperation agreement with the Udmurtian Republic, located in central Russia. This contract is part of a wider set of agreements for VTB to provide a 15-year RUB 5 billion (US$152.7 million) loan to the regional government to build a bridge across the River Kama near the town of Kambarka.

The agreement was signed by VTB President and Chairman of the Management Board Andrey Kostin, head of Udmurtia Alexander Volkov and Alexander Zabarsky, chairman of the board of the Mostostroy-12 construction company, in a ceremony that took place during the fifth Moscow investment forum, Russia Calling, sponsored by VTB Capital.

The project is being implemented in compliance with the federal law on concessions and stipulates building 15 kilometres of bridges and exit roads, including a 1081-metre bridge across the Kama. At present the area is served by ferries, which means that the crossing has limited throughput capacity and operating hours. The bridge will provide a permanent link between the Kama banks and will help to optimise transport flows between Ufa, Izhevsk, Naberezhnye Chelny, Perm and Yekaterinburg.

The bridge will be the first regional project implemented as a public-private partnership in compliance with new legislation on concessions. The construction and operation of the bridge for the next 49 years will be regulated by a concession agreement between the government of Udmurtia and a consortium of investors.

The investors will include the Regional Investment Company consortium and two major contractors, the Mostostroy-12 and Tyumenstalmost construction companies. The project's total budget is around RUB 14 billion (US$427.5 million).