Kilometres-long lines are formed at the Russian-Finnish border, Itar-Tass reports. The lines of vehicles are 42 kilometres long at the Hamina-Vaalimaa section and 23 kilometres in the direction of Nuijamaa. There are lines in the direction of Imatra as well.
Finns fear that accumulations of trucks may reach the third ring road around Helsinki and Vantaa in the capital's suburbs.
Parking grounds near all the border stations are packed.
Finnish Transport Minister Anu Vehvilainen on Friday will study the parking situation at the border. On her ministry's initiative, a new parking ground for a thousand trucks will be build in Vaalimaa. Investments in the construction will amount to 24 million euros. The work is planned to last a year. The minister supports the idea that drivers must pay for the use of the parking site, as the construction expenditures are additional for Finland.
The government also studies possibilities to impose payment for Russian cargo transporters for the use of roads. There is no decision yet on a form of payment. Finnish politicians believe, since transport bound for Russia accounts for 90-95 percent of the traffic, Russian companies may participate in the Finnish road infrastructure development. Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said in a televised interview that he hoped payment would be imposed within his government's four-year term.
Vanhanen connects the problem of long lines at the border first of all with the growth of bilateral trade volumes. Over a few years, the number of cargo trucks at the border doubled to nearly one million units, he noted.