A concession agreement has been signed for the construction of the second and fourth stages of the High–speed Latitudinal Highway

On November 20, 2024, within the framework of the International Forum and Exhibition "Transport of Russia", a concession agreement was signed between St. Petersburg and LLC Latitudinal Highway of the Northern Capital, part of VTB Infrastructure Holding, regarding the financing, creation and operation of the Latitudinal Highway of High-speed Traffic in St. Petersburg.

In the presence of the Minister of Transport of Russia Roman Starovoit, the concession agreement was signed by the Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov and the President and Chairman of the Management Board of VTB Bank Andrey Kostin.

"We are grateful to the President of Russia, the Government and VTB for supporting this mega-project, which is vital for St. Petersburg. An important step has been taken towards the implementation of a key stage in the development of our transport infrastructure. The entire project is being carried out on behalf of the President of Russia. The highway will become the third link in the city's high-speed highway system and part of an updated transport corridor to Karelia, Murmansk, and Arkhangelsk. This will strengthen the city's position as the country's leading transport hub," Alexander Beglov stressed.

The Governor of St. Petersburg also noted that in St. Petersburg the highway will pass mainly inside the industrial belt. The highway will include a new drawbridge, the construction of which will begin next year. This will be the second bridge to be built across the Neva River - for the first time in many decades. The new high-speed highway will stimulate industrial and residential construction, and will make a great contribution to the development of the economy of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region.

"Attracting private investment for the development of St. Petersburg's transport infrastructure is a practice in which VTB Group has been actively involved for many years. We have successful experience in this field. We are going to continue to use it for the benefit of the city, including in the construction of such a large infrastructure project as the SCHMSD. Such highways have a powerful social and economic effect already at the construction stage – advanced technologies are used, small and medium-sized businesses are attracted, new jobs are created. Using the example of the implementation with the participation of VTB of the first inner-city highway of the ZSD, we saw how the highway contributes to the development of new residential areas of the city. It provides a powerful environmental effect for a large metropolis, reducing carbon dioxide emissions and improving the quality of life of citizens," Andrei Kostin said.

The cost of construction of the second and fourth stages of the highway will amount to about 241 billion rubles. Of which the capital grant is 159.2 billion rubles, including federal funds – 90 billion rubles. The planned deadlines for the implementation of the second and fourth stages of the SMSD are 2025-2031.

For reference:

The SMSD starts from the Western High-speed Diameter and will pass inside the industrial belt of the southern planning zone along the northern railway semicircle through the territories of Krasnogvardeisky, Nevsky, Frunzensky, Moskovsky, Kirovsky districts to the junction with the ring road north of the city of Kudrovo (Leningrad region) and then proceeds to the intersection with the Murmansk highway.

Characteristics of the high-speed Latitudinal highway, stages 2-4:

- "Free flow" − automatic charge-off by transponder or license plate;
- artificial lighting throughout;
- estimated speed – 120 km/h;
- the number of main traffic lanes (in total / in each direction) is 6/3 pcs.;
– the bridge over the Neva River is a drawbridge, where the span is realized in the form of a single–wing opening system, the total length is 720 meters.