The Baikal-Amur Regional and Transport Megaproject: Lessons from Exploitation
Anatoliy Kin
Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk
Keywords: Trans-Siberian Railway, Baikal-Amur Mainline, North-Siberian Railroad, construction of BAM, BAM area exploitation, development prospects, problems of transit traffic
Abstract
The article sums up the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline experience, analyzes the reasons why it was unfinished and why its exploitation is lossmaking. We show that the tunnels were not only essential for transportation, they were a large testing ground for new domestic and foreign mining operation practices, new technologies in drilling under permafrost and soil stabilization techniques. New construction technologies developed and tested at the BAM today help to masterfully build roads, tunnels and ports in extreme climatic conditions. Excessive turnover was due to mistakes made in the mainline construction project. As a result, today's villages along the BAM consist primarily of old and dil apldated houses. We draw a conclusion that state protectionist policy is required to effectively develop large-scale projects in the BAM area; the BAM will never be profitable if territories surrounding the railroad are not economically exploited. The paper demonstrated which circumstances are favorable for the BAM to specialize in handling heavy-tonnage trains and for the Trans-Siberian Railway to handle special-purpose trains.
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