Checkpoint on Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island may open by end of 2026

KHABAROVSK. Sept 13 (Interfax) - A Russian-Chinese border checkpoint may open on the Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island near Khabarovsk as early as two years from now, Russian Far East and Arctic Development Minister Alexei Chekunov said.

"We are expecting to open it [the checkpoint] by the end of 2026 and implement the plans defined in the concept, which was signed in Beijing in May this year," Chekunov told reporters after Dmitry Demeshin was sworn in as governor of the Khabarovsk Territory on Friday.

As reported earlier with reference to the Far East and Arctic Development Ministry, the Russian Transport Ministry planned to complete the checkpoint design in 2026 and begin construction in 2029.

Chekunov said in his greetings that the development of infrastructure on the island could turn it into a popular tourist destination.

"Tourist flow through it [the checkpoint] is due to reach 1.3 million [per year] by 2030, which will definitely put the Khabarovsk Territory in a leading position in the Far East," he said.

The Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island of 254 square kilometers is situated on the Amur River in a western suburb of Khabarovsk. Russia controls 174 square kilometers, while the island's western part and the Tarabarov Island have been under Chinese jurisdiction since 2008.