Russia plans to build the world's longest tunnel, a transport and pipeline link under the Bering Strait to Alaska, as part of a $65 billion project to supply the U.S. with oil, natural gas and electricity from Siberia.

The project, which Russia is coordinating with the U.S. and Canada, would take 10 to 15 years to complete, Viktor Razbegin, deputy head of industrial research at the Russian Economy Ministry, told reporters in Moscow. State organizations and private companies in partnership would build and control the route, known as TKM-World Link, he said.

A 6,000-kilometer (3,700-mile) transport corridor from Siberia into the U.S. will feed into the tunnel, which at 64 miles will be more than twice as long as the underwater section of the Channel Tunnel between the U.K. and France, according to the plan. The tunnel would run in three sections to link the two islands in the Bering Strait between Russia and the U.S.

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Comments
We must encourage and applaud the courage of those few who see the need to unearth hidden issues of positive development for the next generation of our world. As I salute the vision and courage of Dr. Moon in joining forces to actualize this, I hope the world leaders will take a cue from it and use the opportunities ahead for the benefit of the larger society. - Mohammed Bougei Attah, Ambassador for Peace

The construction of the Bering Tunnel shall be a huge step toward Universal Peace. As the Russian proverb says: "Those who trade never fight." - Samvel Jeshmaridian

Editor's note

"You spend money on bombs, and in 10 years they're out of date, but [if] you build bridges, they last forever." This was Chinese civil engineer Tung-Yen Lin's response to US President Ronald Reagan when presented with the National Medal of Science in 1986. The retired University of California Berkeley professor shocked the US President by presenting him with a design for an "Intercontinental Peace Bridge" across the Bering Strait, linking the US with the USSR. He also proposed a bridge across the Strait of Gibraltar that would have 16,000-foot (4,900 m) spans and 3,000 feet (910 m) tall towers. Before coming to the US in 1946, Tung-Yen Lin was the chief bridge engineer of the Yunnan-Chongqing Railway and oversaw the design and construction of more than 1,000 bridges.