Final section of new M11 motorway between Moscow and Saint Petersburg opened
The final section (Section 8) of the new Moscow – Saint Petersburg (M11) motorway was officially opened on 27 November 2019 at a ceremony presided over by Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and attended by Yves-Thibault de Silguy, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, VINCI and Nicolas Notebaert, Chief Executive Officer, VINCI Concessions.
The 34 km highway corridor links Tosno, in the Leningrad Region, with the Saint Petersburg ring road. In September 2019, VINCI Concessions and its partners handed over Section 7 of the M11, with a length of 103 km, between the cities of Velikiy Novgorod and Tosno, south of Saint Petersburg.
Sections 7 and 8 were designed, financed and delivered and will be operated until 2041 by VINCI Concessions (40% of the concession company) and its partners under an availability payment PPP (without traffic risk) signed with Avtodor, the State Company that operates Russia’s motorways. The investment amounts to €1.6 billion, including €800 million in public capital support. The two sections comprise a total of 62 bridges and overpasses, 12 service areas and 4 toll stations.
The construction phase was completed in four years despite very harsh weather conditions and a large number of technical challenges to be addressed. Special attention was paid to protecting the environment, with construction of crossings for large wildlife species to ensure ecological continuity.
The new 669 km M11 motorway provides a safe and reliable highway link between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. It cuts the journey time from nine hours via the alternative M10 highway to about five and a half hours. In addition, it better integrates the Russian motorways into the international transport system, particularly in Northern Europe.
VINCI Concessions also holds the concession for the first section of the M11 motorway (handed over in 2014), which links the Moscow ring road with Sheremetyevo Airport. VINCI Concessions is now the leading private sector motorway operator in Russia, with about 950 km of motorways under management and more than 2,000 employees.
Nicolas Notebaert, Chief Executive Officer of VINCI Concessions, said, “We are very proud to be partners of a project on this scale. This new motorway between Moscow and Saint Petersburg will help to very significantly improve mobility in Russia. We will continue to build on our experience and our positive track record in Russia to provide Russian motorists with outstanding service focused on performance and safety.”
