An expedition of the Russian Geographical Society discovered an active tectonic fault 20 km long in the Republic of Tuva, which crosses the path of the projected Russia — Mongolia — China transport corridor. This refers to the Central Eurasian Transport Corridor (CETK) Kuragino — Takeshken, which is intended to connect Central Siberia with Western China via Mongolia and become the shortest land route for Siberian exports of grain, timber, and minerals. According to TASS, the head of the seismological group, senior researcher at the Institute of Physics of the Earth of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Andrey Strelnikov, the fault with a vertical amplitude of up to one and a half meters is capable of causing an earthquake of magnitude up to 6.5 — about seven points. The last time it showed activity was 500–1000 years ago.
Despite the threat, building across the fault is advisable. Engineering solutions are laid down at the design stage: embankment slopes will be made gentle, retaining walls will be reinforced with reinforcing materials, and bridges, overpasses, and culverts will be equipped with dampers to absorb vibrations. For rocky soils, solutions are provided that allow the road to be restored within 24 hours in case of an emergency. Near the fault is the village of Tselinnoye with a population of about 1.4 thousand people; the emergence of the focus on the surface was recorded 12 km east of it.
Bypassing the fault to the west is unprofitable: the route would have to be laid through swamps and permafrost, which would create constant operational problems. In addition, there are local reserves of sand, gravel, and crushed stone nearby, which will reduce construction costs. The "Kuragino — Takeshken" expedition studies seismic threats, logistics, water regimes, and energy supply along the future corridor. The Russian stage of field work will be completed on August 25, and an analytical report with recommendations for laying the route and choosing the type of traction will be presented by October 2026.