“Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company” opened its branch in Komsomolsk in 2005, and since that time continues assembling Superjet SSJ-100 at local aircraft construction giant. By pilots, it is a good airplane – convenient, easy manageable, but seems like still not brought to perfection. Therefore Aeroflot did not want to get SSJ a long time, preferring to fly on foreign crafts and getting some governmental fee even for ready airplanes, staying on the ground. One obvious problem of SSJ-100 is initial deep dependence on the foreign parts. Engine factory was created specially for it in France, as well as Michelin line for wheels. One of the key problems for it is chassis support, which damaged fuel tank at the landing in 2019 and caused deadly disaster. Trials of Russian engine PD-8, designated to replace French one and cost almost twice more, got failed, and experts consider it has a little chance to be whenever certified. After earlier disaster in 2012 Indonesian Kartika Airlines terminated its contract on purchase 30 crafts, in 2018 European CityJet also refused to exploit SSJ-100. Russian Red Wings, refused from SSJ in 2016, was in 2020 enforced by the government to exploit it.

Test flights of two “import-free” SSJ-100 New aircrafts with Russian engines PD-8 started on early 2025. SSJ-100 New is actually new machine, target to slowly replace France dependent ones with SaM146 engine of “Snecma”. After 2026, when demand on Russian crafts will become crucial thanks to the loss of imported ones, Russian United Air Corporation (UAC) plan achieve production level of 30 liners a year. Two import-free super-jets already came to the test station at aircraft construction giant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur since their engines PD-8 came from Rybinsk. During 2025 new aircrafts will conduct about 200 test flights. Actually, new engine required to create quite new airplane with 40 new systems and aggregates, different by size, construction, service and repair conditions.

There are 46 basic Russian suppliers for SSJ-100 New, which involve about 20000 factories over the country. Moscow produce avionics, StPetersburg – fuel equipment and hydraulics, Rybinsk – engines, chassis parts are produced in Kazan, Samara and Barnaul. Simultaneously serial production of SSJ-100 New is being developed at the “Yakovlev” center in Komsomolsk air complex with test station. Now 20 machines are here on different stages. UAC plans to deliver 6 new engines this year, and 44 in 2026, which will be enough to deliver 22 aircrafts. Further production mean 30 crafts a year.

But, exploiting of the old liners SSJ-100 with French engines will continue thanks to organized service and parts production, like spark plugs and fuel filters, which were formerly simply cleaned and re-used, increasing risks. During 3 years Russian engineers increased by 5 times number of parts as subject for local service, up to 311 ones. 214 components are replaced by national analogues. Industry is hardly enforced to do it, despite outrageous costs, to soften upcoming deficit of aircrafts in 2026: now air sits occupancy rate exceeds 90 %. For example, to adapt Russian avionics and engine to most popular Airbus 320 costs about a half of project of the new aircraft.

Construction of this plant, announced 12 years ago, was started by July 2021, first stage planned to be completed in 2025. Since full lunch of the 1 stage it will produce 1,8 million tons of methanol, after 2-nd stage – additionally 3 million tons of carbamide. Project, funded by the set of Russian banks, is implemented in collaboration with China Chengda Engineering Co. as general contractor, but since 2016 100 % of shares belong to oligarch Artyom Obolenski. By the long term agreement of 2019, Chinese Development Bank granted to pay $ 1,7 billion to Russian banks syndicate for NPMF.

It’s marine terminal will be able to accept annually 105 ships. 4 columns of 490 tons each for methanol synthesis facility were brought to the site in September 2024. About 5000 people and 200 special machines are working now for the project, which is one of 10 biggest investment ones in Russia with 445 billion rubles private investments. Finally 1500 jobs will be presented by NPMF.

It is significant that local citizens in the settlements around were strongly opposing this construction using even court cases. They pointed out a big set of legal violations in the process of election construction site and project promotion, reminding also that methanol is a strong poison and its leaks to environment will be unavoidable.

Nonetheless, project reportedly means totally recycling technology. During several years of tax privileges for this resident of “Nakhodka” Territory of Advanced Development, it will submit 50 billion rubles to the budget, and 26 billion annually since privileges will be over. Key consumers of NPMF products will be China, India and Latin America, some carbamide will be supplied to Far Eastern agro businesses, producing soybeens for China. The plant will accept 3,15 billion cu meters raw gas annually from Sakhalin by Gazprom’s pipeline.

Primorye Regional Tourist Agency organized presentation of the new international touristic project “Tumen Way”. By the authors, nobody presented anything equal before: tourist boat will start from Fanchuang (Hunchun municipality, Jilin Province), go down by Tumen river from its Chinese to the Russian part, get out to Sea of Japan and return back. Further development of the project will include creation of new giant recreational complex at the South Khasan municipality with marinas, hotels for 3800 tourists, fish markets, aquatic park and ethnic village. This part of project, planned to be completed by 2031 in three stages, was discussed at the recent meeting of Primorye governor Kozhemyako and other governors with president Putin. Investment volume into this project is estimated as tens billions yuan. Resulting that, Chinese tourists should receive one more, water based way to enter Primorye besides existing gates. Experts evaluate touristic capacity of this project up to 3000 people a day.

Tumen river starts from the sacred Chinese and Korean Pektusan Mount and is a border between China and DPRK, besides lowest 17 km part of Russian-DPRK border. International project is worked out by the “Tumen Way” holding, which unites Russian, North Korean and Chinese companies and NGOs. During designated tour participants will get exotic information on the history and environment of neighbor regions, including State Marine Preserve with unique diving environment, Khasan Natural and Leopard National Parks, conflicts of 1938 and 1945 against Japanese invasion on the North Korea and Manchuria.

Broadly promoted motto of the project is – “3 countries - one river - one way - one win”. The project, initiated by NGO, was ordered by “Hunchun Construction Company of the Silk Road Board” and Russian company “Tumen Way”, and will be implemented by operating private company of A.Zakharov. Investors, which have to present 30 billion rubles, plan to get up to 500 K tours around a year. Guests will mainly be attracted by 1 km long sandy beach and birds rich wetlands in summer. Resort should have warm marine pools, medical center and other attractions, located on 150 ha of the coastal territory.

In the meanwhile, very few people in Primorye and over Far East now remember and even know the whole, extremely long and dramatic history of Tumen project since 1927. By that time Japanese prime minister Tanaka presented his secret Memorandum to emperor on the Manchurian access to the sea and Japanese access to invaded Manchuria via Tumen mouth. Later, since 1960-s Russian-Chinese relations had failed and enforced both countries to hardly block and militarize borders here, so Tumen project idea was forgotten for many years. But, at the end of 1980-s situation changed, and old model of the area economic development returned to international East Asian agenda in the form of “Tumen Golden Triangle” as a model of long time desired Chinese direct access to the Sea of Japan. It was declared in 1990 in Changchun by Dean Shichen, President of Asia-Pacific Institute at the conference, organized by “East-West” Center (Honolulu, USA) and UN Development Program (UNDP). China used political support of deeply reformed USSR and regional officials in Primorye, and launched a broad international discussion around the new UNDP initiative named “Tumen River Area Development Project – TRADP”. Basic idea of the project meant creation free economic zones in all 3 neighbor countries and unite them under entire management body.

The Second TRADP Working Group Meeting on Tourism was held in Hunchun City in August 1999. The meeting was organized by the UNDP-supported Tumen Secretariat, as part of TRADP. DPRK was not able to attend the meeting. Representative of WTO, Harsh Varma introduced completed study on The Tourism Resources, outlined the findings of tourism inventory work, while 125 sites had been identified, described and evaluated. Nonetheless, the study had found serious structural defects in the region’s tourism - hotels unsuitable for Japanese and North American markets, limited visitor information centres, limited number of multi-lingual guides and limited technical capabilities of local tour agencies. That lack of facilities is constraining the degree to which the region’s unique sites can be used for tourism.

Meanwhile, this global project in Primorye of early 1990-s met growing skeptical attitude and contradiction among environmental and civil society, since traditionally Khasan municipality remained the only access to the warm and clean sea coast for the whole Far East after long and cold winter. The more, Khasan area wetlands around Tumen river mouth were officially recognized by local scientists as the area of high global value, non compatible with any industrial and commercial activity. Lastly, process of demarcation of Russian-Chinese border along changeable riverbed, initiated in 1990-s by China, met serious public and official opposition in the region, which finally made TRADP an object of low or zero interest in Russia. Chinese dream of new HongKong port in Tumen mouth had gone, and China found much more easy access to Sea of Japan in the North Korean port Rajin, which attracted all cargo flows out of any other ports in the region, existing and designated.

Keeping all that in mind, new re-incarnation of Tumen initiative with started construction of trans-Tumen truck bridge now seems like some civil decoration of deep military cooperation between DPRK and Russia, with simultaneous promotion of constantly growing Chinese tourism to Primorye and demonstration of strong triangular political collaboration. And these goals, by some environmental experts, may overcome and destroy environmental and recreational restrictions on the area development and lead to the serious loss of unique local biodiversity, including set of traditional tourist attractions.