Open Letter to Vinci

An open letter to VINCI Company

 Illegal project of Mocow-St.Petersburg highway threats Khimki Forest Park ecosystem

We, environmental activists protecting Khimki Forest, got known that your company is playing a crucial role in the “North-West investment company” consortium that is planning to sign an agreement on building of the Moscow-St.-Petersburg commercial highway (segment from 15 to 58 km).

Therefore, we have to make the following statement.

There is little doubt that only extremely favorite terms ensured by Russian side made you to turn blind eye to obvious signs of corruption  surrounding this project. For example, there are four road interchanges in the 15-19 km segment. The admissible number for international highways (expressways) of such class is 1 (one) interchange for 20-30 km. It is especially true for the road conceived as a part of international North-South highway corridor and pan-Europ highway corridor #9.

But the main problem is that the project you are going to participate in breaches severely Russian laws, human rights as well as international environmental norms.

 It is known that the planned arrangement for the segment of the road from 15 to 58 km was first revealed in 2004 by State Customer “FGU DOROGI ROSSII” (State company “Roads of Russia”)- see http://www.mintrans.ru/pressa/Round_Table/bistrov%20rus.pdf . This arrangement included the planned highway passage through the territories of both Moscow and City District of Khimki. Quick view to the attached plan shows that throughout Moscow the road passes in a common transport corridor with existing Oktyabrskaya railroad.  But, this direction changes between Moscow and Khimki, where the road turns abruptly to the right (after Businovo interchange). Then it passes through Levoberezhny district of Khimki (just near residential buildings, by Sovkhoznaya str). It should be noted that even here the road is placed in very environment unfriendly way destroying a narrow forest strip separating the residential buildings from a giant landfill. Then, after crossing Moscow-Volga channel, the road enters  Khimki Forest Park.  Please note that the passage of the road was already revealed in 2004. Moreover, according to later official statements of the Federal Road Agency of Russia (Rosavtodor), this variant was chosen from few other variants.

It remains quite unclear who, when and how made that choice. No public discussion or even mere access to the information was available.

We have strong evidence that there was not any formal procedure of choice at all. The need to “legitimize” that decision was the main reason behind the procedure of  “preliminary” choice of the variant that was played on the local (Khimki’s) level a year later, in 2005.  But even then, Mr. Alimusaev, Director of Krasnogorsky Spetzleskhoz (local forestry), refused to sign a protocol on the choice result.  

Moreover, in 2008   Mayor of Khimki canceled his acceptance of the road passage which was based on that “choice”.  

We must also specially mention the answer of the Chief of Moscow City Forest Department (see Appendix) who was then a special governmental body responsible for use, conservation and protection of city’s forests including in forest park protective belt around Moscow (Krasnogorsky forestry was then a subordinate of  that Department): “Analysis of the chosen way through the forest shows that authors of the decision  on  road’s placement have even not tried to minimize assumed damage to the forest park. Therefore, the Department refuses to agree the presented variant of the road passage. (We note these circumstances to show that public statements of the State Customer and project office that decision making procedure was in full compliance with law in case of Khimki Forest are completely false. Not mention the procedure of latter “public hearing” that was a sheer falsification).    

It was after the decision about the road passage was taken in so doubtful way (i.e., completely ignoring opinion of the appropriate governmental body) that a kind of legal ground was attempted to put behind it.  Namely, a Ruling # 358/16 on “Measures for constriction of highway Moscow-St.Petersburg and development of adjacent regions of Moscow District” was issued on April,28 2006. From basic statements of this ruling one can deduce that the true reason behind the choice of the road through the forest was a “legal” possibility to convert forest’s land into other land categories to use it as a construction ground for various commercial and capital buildings. Indeed, according to the Ruling (as shown on a plan in its Appendix), about 2/3 of the forest territory included into zone for transport infrastructure and capital buildings (approx. 600 hectares).  

The signing of the Ruling has shown not only predatory attitude of state bureaucrats toward vital natural resources. It has also shown that functional capability of the new highway is also out of consideration since such “infrastructure” would inevitably slow traffic down. Our opinion is that all these circumstances point clearly that the true objective of the affaire is not a highway itself but maximum criminal income for a small group of bureaucrats capable to arrange pseudo-tenders for distribution and further commercial use of forest land. Such affairs were already reported in many minor cases throughout Moscow district.      

We have official references of state bodies and government officials (not involved in lobbying interests of the affair’s beneficiaries) about environmental danger and illegality of the project. Some of them are quoted in Appendix, other are available at www.ecmo.ru (in Russian).     

In the present state, building of the road is impossible because to the prohibition imposed according to Russian Forest Code (article 105 paragraph 5 part 3) which doesn’t allow any capital construction work within protective forests having “Forest Park Zone” (before 17.03.09 – “Forest Park”) category.

Even in case the corrupted bureaucracy would succeed in changing boundaries of the forest park zone (that possibility was successfully lobbied in the new edition of the Forest Code) ,  the chosen variant remains  illegal. Indeed, Article 11 of Federal Law #172-FZ on “Conversion of lands or estates from one category to another”) allows conversion of protective forests into another category for construction of any object only in case no other variant of object’s placement is available. But, according to official statements of Rosavtodor and other bodies responsible for the highway project other variants were available but refused (see our leaflet “Khimkinskaya Pravda Zhiva” at http://narod.ru/disk/8689396000/Himk%20pravda%20jiva.pdf in Russian).   Therefore, all works linked to the project became illegal since 01/01/07 when the mentioned law came into force.

Moreover, destruction of Khimki Forest Park according to the project and Gromov’s ruling violates Constitutional right of every citizen to favorable environment. Indeed, residents of Moscow and Khimki will be deprived from use of Khimki Forest Park as it is intended by law “to completely meet citizens’ sanitary, hygienic and aesthetic needs” (Paragraph 1.1.3 of Moscow District Forest Plan). 

On the basis of the above, we propose Vinci Company to keep voluntarily from taking part in the project. We must ensure you that real risks for your company are much higher than it was perhaps presented in the Concurs Documentation. Moreover, participation in the project would inevitably undermine your company’s reputation.   

We hope our statement would be promptly considered and answered. Nevertheless, we are ready to take additional efforts in order to deliver all the necessary information directly to the company’s management.   

Appendix

Statements of Governmental  bodies and State officials on the  character and consequences of the highway passage through Khimki Forest