The construction of a 400-kilometre long railway from the city of Kyzyl to the town of Kuragino, in the Republic of Tuva, in Siberia, got under way earlier this Friday.

The project, first considered 100 years ago, is estimated at 120 billion roubles. To build the railway is quite a challenge since the construction teams will have to struggle with a hard-of-access mountainous country.

The project comprises the construction of more than 100 bridges, 14 anti-avalanche galleries and a total of six kilometres of tunnels.