Russia Finances World’s First Cross-Border Cable Car Project

*The futuristic Blagoveshchensk Terminal*

The Russian State Development Corporation, VEB.RF, has provided the first tranche of ₽211 million (US$2.8 million) of a ₽17 billion (US$215 million) project for constructing a cable car between Blagoveshchensk in the Amur region and Heihe in China. It will become the world’s first cross-border cable car crossing, with immigration facilities on both sides.

A total of ₽4 billion of this project is concessional financing from VEB.RF through the Far East and Arctic Development Ministry.

*The current status as under construction.*

The project is being implemented by the Agency for Development of Project Initiatives. To date, work on the monolithic frame of the station has been completed, and interior finishing work, installation of utility networks, as well as facade systems and curtain walls, are underway, and installation of the cable car equipment is being carried out.

The cable car’s capacity is 6,800 people per day in each direction, or 2.5 million people per year in both directions.

The contractor plans to complete the work in Q3 2026. It is expected that by 2030, the flow of foreign tourists to Blagoveshchensk will triple to 918,000 people per year.

Blagoveshchensk is a major artery between Russia and China, with road and rail bridge crossings all having been developed in recent years. Bilateral trade via this route grew 19% in 2024.