According to the website of Russia Today TV on December 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an important industry conference in Moscow on December 15 that Russia will vigorously develop a large-scale infrastructure system over the next 10 years, especially in the area of rail transportation. Putin also said that these planned projects will have an impact not only on Russia's logistics network but also on the logistics network across the entire Eurasian continent.

The report said that due to the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the United States and its Western allies have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia, for which Russia has been actively developing economic and trade ties with Asian countries and other regional countries. According to the Federal Customs Service of Russia, trade with Asia accounted for about 70 percent of Russia's total trade volume from January to September 2023, according to data from the Russian Federal Customs Service.

Speaking at the conference, Putin said, "The next ten years will be a decade of building large-scale construction works, large-scale projects, including in the field of railroad transportation." Russia plans to modernize its key railroad lines - including the 9,289-kilometer-long Great Siberian Railway. Russia also plans to expand transportation infrastructure at ports on the Azov, Black and Caspian seas, he said.

Putin declared that Russia aims to develop "a globally competitive market for transportation services" and build transportation corridors across the continent. He added that Moscow is actively working with foreign partners, including China, India and Mongolia.

The president said that new rail lines, including those in the Arctic and Pacific regions, would help Russia connect its already vast transportation infrastructure with major logistics centers in the south and east of the Eurasian continent.

He added: "These projects will provide significant scope for the long-term development of the entire industrial sector and will greatly benefit our country and its people."

The Russian leader made special mention of plans to further expand the International North-South Transport Corridor. This is a waterway, rail and road line spanning more than 7,200 kilometers and was originally designed to connect St. Petersburg, Russia, with Mumbai, India, via the Caspian Sea and Iran. The original genesis of the project dates back to 2002 and involves 11 countries.

The International North-South Transportation Corridor aims to halve the time required to transport goods from the Baltic Sea to India, while doubling the volume of freight turnover along the route. According to some media reports, it is expected to be twice as efficient as transporting goods through the Suez Canal.

Now, according to Putin, Russia plans to further connect the international north-south transport corridor with Murmansk, linking India's transportation hub with one of Russia's major seaports in the Arctic. "It will take only 15 days to transport goods from Murmansk to Mumbai," Putin 15 said. He added that this transportation will be three times faster than now.

Another batch of projects is aimed at creating another railroad network connecting Russia's Far East with northern ports on the Taimyr and Yamal peninsulas. These new lines will partially relieve the pressure on the Great Siberian Railway and create "an important logistics center in the Urals and Siberia," he said.