New procurement records add millions more to budget that has nearly doubled, as Moscow targets early September opening
Russia’s new border crossing is facing additional costs with the addition of nearly $6 million worth of canopies, taking its ballooning budget to at least $183 million, nearly twice the original sum the Russian government allocated for the project.
Records published on Monday by Rosgranstroy, the Russian state agency overseeing the project, via a state procurement portal reveal that seven canopies will be added at a cost of $5.8 million.
Red circles represent the sites for prospective canopies relative to the border facility captured in satellite imagery and as seen through its blueprint | Images: Planet Labs, edited by NK News, Rosgranstroy
The new canopies are expected to sit on either side of the main building, at the vehicle inspection site, at sites for detained vehicles and at both entrances to shield “vehicles and personnel from rain or snow” and “facilitate inspections.”
They will be added to the largely completed modular buildings at the site, previously seen in satellite imagery by late August. While work is ongoing on the Russian side, the DPRK completed its border facility early in the summer.
Newly constructed facilities at the Russian border crossing as seen on Aug. 22, 2026 | Image: Plane Labs, edited by NK News
The Russian checkpoint was estimated to be 65% completed as of last month, ahead of the bridge’s expected opening in early September.
The new canopies are not the only additions set to increase the project’s total cost. Similar procurement records show that Rosgranstroy tasked Moscow-based proprietor Pavel Zakipnykh with conducting an “expert examination” of the crossing’s modular buildings for $600,000 last week.
The border construction authority also sought subcontractors to supply and install diesel generators and fuel storage for $1.3 million, conduct an expert analysis of the security system for $500,000, install information and navigation signs for $2.3 million and provide a modular electrical substation for another $500,000.
NK Pro previously reported that the checkpoint’s officially disclosed costs quickly ballooned far above the initial budget of some $100 million Moscow set aside in early 2025, reaching at least $173 million by Jan. 2026.
Russia and North Korea were expected to open the crossing by June 19, the second anniversary of the 2024 Vladimir Putin-Kim Jong Un summit, but the project faced delays. The two sides officially connected their respective sections of the bridge in April.
In late July, a Russian official from the bordering Khasan settlement said the opening would take place some time in early September, possibly to coincide with the Sept. 1-4 Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, with Putin expected to attend.
It is not clear whether Putin’s agenda will include the bridge’s opening ceremony or if the project has even been completed.
Apart from the delays and ballooning costs, the project has recently faced other headwinds, including a $1.5 million lawsuit filed against its main contractor TonnelYuzhStroi by one of its material suppliers.
Edited by Alannah Hill