Official start of the 59th navigation season along the Volga-Don Canal (Volgograd region) has been held today at the N11 lock of Volga-Don Canal (Volgograd’s Krasnoarmeysky district), the regional administration press office said. The first ship that set sail was a MB 1220 tugboat bound for the port of Mariupol of Ukraine.
The State Volga-Don Basin Management has implemented a 200-m-ruble reconstruction project of the Canal’s three major locks - N4, N10 and N14 before the navigation. Installation of electronic equipment to ensure safe ship transit is still undergoing.
According to the regional authorities, the Canal would see a strong increase in transit traffic volumes this year. Noteworthy, in the past crisis-troubled year freight traffic rose by 18%. Igor Pikalov, a deputy head of administration believes, the regional authorities should "maximize the benefit by the advantageous Volgograd’s location on inland waterways intersection ".
Volga-Don Canal links the rivers of Volga and Don near Volgograd. The Canal is a chain in the entire transportation network of the European part of Russia.
The State Volga-Don Basin Management has implemented a 200-m-ruble reconstruction project of the Canal’s three major locks - N4, N10 and N14 before the navigation. Installation of electronic equipment to ensure safe ship transit is still undergoing.
According to the regional authorities, the Canal would see a strong increase in transit traffic volumes this year. Noteworthy, in the past crisis-troubled year freight traffic rose by 18%. Igor Pikalov, a deputy head of administration believes, the regional authorities should "maximize the benefit by the advantageous Volgograd’s location on inland waterways intersection ".
Volga-Don Canal links the rivers of Volga and Don near Volgograd. The Canal is a chain in the entire transportation network of the European part of Russia.