A seemingly existential idea in science fiction novels is being mentioned by Russia with new ambitions: building a Putten - Trump tunnel, a project across the Bering Strait of more than 110km, connecting Russia with the US.
According to Mr. Kirill Dmitriev - Special Envoy of the Russian President in charge of international economic cooperation, General Director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), this project could be completed in less than 8 years, at a cost of 8 billion USD, only 1/8 of the traditional estimate.
The Bering tunnel is expected to have a railway and a freight route, opening a new era for the exploitation of common resources and economic connectivity between Russia and the US.
Imagine a project connecting the US and Russia, the Americas and Asia - Europe, through the Putin - Trump tunnel, a symbol of global unity. The traditional cost of this type of project is more than $65 billion, but with technology from The Boring Company (a company founded by Elon Musk), that figure could fall below $8 billion. Let's build a future together! Dmitriev wrote on X.
The idea of building a tunnel through the Bering Strait - where the distance between the Chukotka Peninsula (Russia) and the state of Alaska (USA) is only over 85km - was proposed by engineers in the 19th century, but has never been as close to reality as it is today.
According to RDIF, with the high-speed tunnel digging technology of The Boring Company, the tunnel about 113km long can be completed within 8 years, instead of lasting for decades like similar projects.
According to Mr. Dmitriev, the Bering tunnel will allow direct connection of the trans-Asia railway line with North America, opening up an unprecedented Asia - Europe - US transport corridor.
The tunnel also helps strengthen cooperation in exploiting common resources, especially in the field of energy and minerals in the Arctic.
The project will create jobs and promote bilateral economies, as the two major economies invest in connecting infrastructure.
The head of RDIF stressed that Russia has experience in implementing large-scale cross-border infrastructure projects, typically the first Russia-China railway bridge, and now is the time to do more than that.
We have invested in and completed the first railway bridge connecting Russia and China. Now is the time to connect two continents, for the first time in human history. It is time to connect Russia and the US, Dmitriev affirmed.
Notably, the iconic name Putin - Trump tunnel used by Dmitriev suggests a vision of cooperation overcoming political differences, while also hinted at the possibility that Elon Musk and US technology could participate in a new globalization project.
Experts say that although this idea is still far away from coming true, if successful, the tunnel through Bering will become the largest strategic geological infrastructure project of the 21st century.
