Chekunkov spoke about the work on the Transarctic Transition project

Alexey Chekunkov, Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, told Izvestia on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) about the prospects of the Transarctic Transport Corridor (TTC) and the possibility of building a high-speed railway between Russia and China. According to him, these are global projects that require serious calculations and the willingness of both sides.

"Now the most important area of development of the transport sector in general is the development of the Transarctic Transport Corridor, which not only connects the Far East and the Arctic, it connects Asia with Europe in a new way," the minister told Izvestia correspondent Alexei Poltoranin.

According to Chekunkov, all future major infrastructure projects will be connected to the TTC in one way or another, since this is not just a route from Kaliningrad and Murmansk to Vladivostok and Shanghai, but a full-fledged highway from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

According to the minister, a comprehensive plan for the development of the TTC has already been prepared and will be presented to Russian President Vladimir Putin by the end of the year.

"In the future, everything new that is needed to better connect Europe with Asia will be included in this project. Therefore, I think sooner or later, not this year, not at this stage, but sooner or later I believe that a high—speed railway will connect Russia and China," Chekunkov said.

In his opinion, the most logical place for its appearance is the Far East, in particular the Vladivostok–Khabarovsk route.

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The press service of the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation told Izvestia on June 21 that the TTK plays a key role in developing the investment potential of the Arctic. The project will directly affect the quality of life of more than 3 million residents of the Arctic regions and territories of the Far North, thousands of jobs will be created. The TTK, as noted in the department, is the most effective logistics route for the sale of products manufactured in the Arctic zone of Russia and the Far East.