According to ITAR - TASS, a Russian businessman Gennady Timchenko is ready to build a tunnel under the Kerch Strait 40 billion roubles.

"Experts are inclined to the construction of the bridge in the Tuzla area, " said the businessman. Strategically this right, but such a project would cost under 300 billion roubles. In addition, ordered to open the traffic over the bridge to 31 December 2017, which is very hard the time. Yes, the logic of this option are obvious: next to the already built the port, worked out the project of laying of access roads... There are the so called Zhukovsky option, where a tunnel. It would cost $ 40 billion. Feel the difference?"

Timchenko acknowledged that the variant of construction of the tunnel has disadvantages: in the case of "Zhukovsky option" host it rests in Kerch. "Haul the cargo through the city with a population of more than one hundred thousand people is not too good, " said the businessman. - If to pave the road detour, enter an area of historical monuments, destroy that nobody will. Here and think... the Problem in any case we need to solve it. Today ferries carry four train per day, and the tunnel will increase throughput in ten times. Not four and forty-four! Every half hour - composition". And on the construction of the tunnel, according to Timchenko, will be not more than three years".

Whatever the final choice of the transport passage, Timchenko is ready to take part in the project, "if you trust and charge". "The resources for this is, " he said. - IC "Bridge", where I have a blocking stake, built Russia's largest cable-stayed bridge to Russkiy island in Vladivostok, the road to Krasnaya Polyana from Adler..."

By early June the experts collected by the state company "Avtodor", considered more than 70 endings and constructions of transport transition, including various combinations of bridges and underwater tunnels. Following the discussion, all variants of construction of tunnels were deemed ineffective because of the high cost of construction and operation, and because of high requirements to the safety of traffic in the tunnel and complexities of building works under the Kerch Strait.

31 July, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak told journalists that the selected "tuschinski option" host bridge. Investor of construction estimated cost 247 billion roubles will be only the state.