The launch of the Blagoveshchensk-Heihe cable car is scheduled for spring 2026

The launch of the world's first cross-border cable car, which should connect Russia with China, is planned for the spring of 2026. It will run over the Amur River, linking the two banks.

The project to build a cable car crossing between Blagoveshchensk and Heihe is being implemented on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement signed by the parties in September 2015. The symbolic start of construction work was given in July 2019.

It is noted that the construction was initially planned to be completed in March 2023. However, the Russian side announced an adjustment to the deadlines due to the need for approvals from foreign counterparties. The mega-project budget increased from the initial 12 billion to 13.2 billion rubles.

As explained by the Operations Director of the Agency for the Development of Project Initiatives, Ekaterina Kuzmina, the updated estimate includes expenses for both the infrastructure complex with the terminal and the transport system itself to ensure uninterrupted operation.

The cable car will operate on the pendulum principle, similar to a funicular. The length of the air corridor will reach 976 meters with a flight height of 70 meters. Travel time will be 2.5 minutes. Two autonomous lines with cabins with a capacity of 60 passengers each are planned. The daily capacity of each branch is estimated at 6.8 thousand people.

Construction crews are working synchronously in the border areas. Chinese suppliers are making parallel shipments of equipment for both terminals. At present, the passenger complex on the Russian shore is 60% complete.

As Kuzmina specified, the facility is classified as a third-category complexity structure. After the installation is complete, test runs of the transport system will be conducted.

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