In Primorye commissioned narvinsky mountain road tunnel that was built under the programme to protect the far Eastern leopard population. The ceremony was attended by head of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov, reports TASS.
Moving through the tunnel, according to Ivanov, is set to begin on Saturday, March 26. “Indeed, there is every reason to say that today we finally built the first in Russia ecological tunnel, which serves both people and motorists, and complies with road safety, and simplifies the lives of our beautiful animals,” said he.
Ivanov recalled that the construction of the tunnel lasted three years, and its value amounted to 1.8 billion rubles. “The original estimate was not increased. It’s not always the case during the construction works”, — he stressed.
Narvinsky mountain tunnel is located between the refuge “Leopardovy” and a protected area. The main purpose of its construction was not to interfere with migratory paths of animals.
The Amur leopard lives in the border area of three countries — Russia, China and North Korea. Currently this species is on the verge of extinction. In 2008 in Russia was approved a special program on the study of the preservation and restoration of its population.
