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Russia's Federal Road Agency, Rosavtodor, has awarded the tender process for the construction of a long-awaited multibillion dollar vehicular bridge across the Lena River in northeastern Siberia.

The consortium OOO Transportnye kontsessii (Sakha) formed by Northern Capital Highway, VTB, VTB Capital and Istner Limited has been picked as the preferred bidder for the project.

The tender process, announced in July 2013, is for a concession to build a three-kilometer bridge over the river that separates the Siberian city of Yakutsk from the mainland, which is now only accessible via minor roads and the great waterway.

The total value of the contract is 56 billion rubles ($1.7 billion), with the government providing 75 % of the required amount and the remaining 25 % to come from private funds.

The successful bidder will have 6 years to construct the bridge and then be obligated to maintain it for 8 years. As the bridge is planned to be free of charge, the concessionaire will see a return on investment in the form of availability payments. The overall term of concession is 14 years.

Two other consortia had submitted qualification documents:

• OOO Yakutskaya mostostroitel'naya kompaniya: Chinese Railway Construction Company, LLC Stroygazconsulting and LLC NPO Mostovik;

• AO Kontsessok 22: Vinci Concessions, Vinci Highway and Gefera

However, according to local sources, the consortium led by Vinci wasn't qualified because its qualification documents did not comply with tender documents. The preselection results were known on 5 November 2013.