The decision to build a Russian tunnel to Crimea would come from the same commission from China, under which the planned builders of the Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel also work.
A businessman working on the construction of a tunnel between Finland and Estonia Peter Vesterbacka does not see a problem in connection with the Chinese companies planned as builders of the Tallinn tunnel with Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.
Newspaper The Washington Post said on Friday that Russia, together with Chinese companies, is planning to build a tunnel to Russian-occupied Crimea.
According to the newspaper, China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), the Chinese state railway construction company, is involved in the planning. In emails obtained by the Washington Post, the company requires that its involvement remain secret.
The company is probably worried about Western sanctions. The Chinese state has openly supported Russia’s war of aggression.
The Washington Post obtained e-mails from the Ukrainian authorities in which representatives of the companies discuss the issue. The companies have established a joint venture in Crimea. The newspaper says that it has also confirmed information from other sources.
Different companies, but the same host
Vesterbacka points out that CRCC is a different company from his tunnel company Finest Bay Area Development’s Tallinn tunnel project previously merged China Railway International Group, which is a part of the world’s largest construction company, China’s state-owned China Railway Engineer Corporation (CREC).
Despite their stock market listings, both CRCC and CREC operate under the supervision of SASAC, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council of China.
According to Vesterbacka, the actions of the Chinese in Russia’s war of aggression have no effect on the Tallinn tunnel.
– A different group, but we can generalize and say that they are from China. You can always do that, says Vesterbacka.
Vesterbacka does not see a problem in the same host of construction companies.
– I don’t know if there is a particular problem. No actual drilling machines and drilling machine drivers have been selected. It might be a bit early to say that they are the same. There are really different companies involved.
“The actor in question does not make any decisions”
Vesterbacka emphasizes that the potential builders of the tunnel have not yet been chosen. The current largest financier of the tunnel project, the Chinese Touchstone Capital Partners, tells among other things, that CREC is its strategic partner.
– The actor in question does not make any decisions. We are owned, we are controlled. No matter what you think. Of course, we talk with financiers, but there is no such connection, says Vesterbacka.
In July 2019, there was extensive news about the financing of the tunnel project.
– During this week, we are entering into a letter of intent with the Chinese CREC, which is the world’s largest construction company, Vesterbacka told at the time.
Also, for example, a news agency Reuters told about the letter of intent at the time.
This is how Peter Vesterbacka and Deputy Mayor of Helsinki Anni Sinnemäki (green) discussed the Tallinn tunnel in 2018.