Land of unimplemented projects
Russia’s southern ports have a fairly good potential for growth and demonstrate throughput increase even amid crisis. Investments into port infrastructure of Russia’s southern territories are also of a strategic importance for the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, attracting of investments into the development of ports in the Krasnodar Territory is an extremely slow process unlike that in Ukraine.
On paper
Lots of promising investment projects has been announced for the ports of the Krasnodar Territory during last 5 years. In particular, the Department of Investments and Design Supervision of Krasnodar Territory Administration names construction of a new port in Taman (Cape of Zhelezny Rog), development of Temryuk port, construction of a shipyard to build low-tonnage vessels for operation in water areas of Taman, Temryuk and Kavkaz ports.
In port Temryuk it is planned to build a multipurpose berth and a cargo terminal (total territory - 65.2 hectares) for uninterrupted supply of sawn timber, steel, fertilizers and containers. Estimated turnover is 3.9 million tonnes per year. Announced investments – EUR15.27 mln, payback period - 4 years. As of today, there is no information about who is to implement the project.
Taman mysteries
Widely advertised project on construction of Taman port is currently under a cloak of secrecy. As PortNews IAA learnt from Taman branch of RosMorPort FSUE, the only project operating in the port today is that of a production-and-transshipment complex Food Ingredients LLC of Efko (EFKO is Russian holding specializing in production of vegetable oils and mayonnaises as well as specialized fat and margarine for different food industries both for domestic consumption and for export).
The complex launched in December 2008 handles edible oils in the new port (500,000 tonnes per year). Investment into the first phase of the complex totaled RUR 3 bln. As PortNews IAA learnt from Pavel Ryzhykh, BOD Chairman of Food Ingredients LLC, this year the company is likely to commence construction of the second phase capable of handling 6-7 million tonnes of dry loose cargo per year. Investment is to make RUR 5 bln. Pavel Ryzhykh confirmed that there are no other operating projects in Taman port apart from the first phase of the complex.
Two other investors – Tamanneftegaz and Toljattiazot have not implemented their projects yet.
It should be noted that Tamanneftegaz OJSC is a customer and investor of Taman complex for transshipment of liquefied hydrocarbon gas, crude and oil products. The complex is designed to handle 10.5 market of product per year including 1 million tonnes of liquefied hydrocarbon gas, 3 million tonnes of heavy fuel oil, 5.5 million tonnes of crude and 1 million tonnes of light oil products.
As of today, there are no terminals for liquefied hydrocarbon gas in Russia so this project is of a high significance.
The construction of the terminal started in 2005. Commissioning of the terminal was scheduled for 2009, while the complex for transshipment of crude, heavy fuel oil and light oil products was planned to be put into operation in 2010.
As PortNews IAA learnt from state authorities of Taman, the delay of the project implementation should be attributed to long-running negotiations between investors and territorial administration as regards assignments of land. PortNews IAA failed to get comments from Tamanneftegaz.
At the same time, there is a need to build a shipyard for construction of low-tonnage fleet taking into consideration vast water areas of ice-free ports Taman, Kavkaz and Temryuk. Such a project announced by the territorial administration needs RUR 574 mln of investment and 4 years of a payback period. Design capacity of the shipyard is 1,000 low-tonnage vessels per year.
No information has been provided by the Krasnodar Territory Administration on implementation of the above projects despite official request of the information agency. So it is quite within reason to suggest that they are still on paper. Non-transparency of the situation and absence of official information makes one think that the search for investors and their negotiations with the regional authorities may take more than a year.
Ukrainian gambit
At the same time, the region’s neighbor Ukraine seems not to lose time. Development Bank of Kazakhstan has recently decided to resume credit financing of АЕGaz-Terminal CJSC which carries out construction of a terminal for transshipment of liquefied hydrocarbon gas some ten kilometers off Russian coast in Kerch fishing port (Crimea, Ukraine).
Total sum of the loan provided by the bank for АЕGaz-Terminal in 2008 amounts to $9.2 mln including $2.15 mln received by the company as early as in May of that year.
Project of АЕGaz-Terminal envisages the construction of a railway-ferry bridge to accumulate gas condensate in storage facilities as well as the creation of a hi-tech terminal for its transfer to gas carrying tankers. АЕGaz-Terminal was established in 2005 as a subsidiary of Kazakh corporation Asia-Europe Gaz-Kazakhstan (АЕGaz-Kazakhstan) specializing in projects aimed at recovery and export of associated gas. The project wasdesigned for Kazakh gas. Moreover, initiators count on attraction of cargo flow from Russia and probably from Turkmenistan.
According to the project, annual capacity of the new complex in Kerch will be up to 1 million tonnes of gas condensate. The declared goal of the project is to obtain an access of continental liquefied hydrocarbons to Europe.