Russian Transport Lines group of companies (RTL) on November 11, 2011 inaugurated a marine terminal Novaya Gavan (New Harbor) in the port of Ust-Luga, the company said Friday.
The Group has invested RUB 1.5 million in the facility construction and is set to inject another 3 billion rubles in the project development in the period until 2014. Public investment for the same period is valued at RUB 2.5 billion. To date, the state has spent RUB 330 million mainly for dredging and reclamation works.
The terminal first phase capacity will be about 250,000 imported vehicles a year. Besides, RTL mulls handling at the terminal other types of Ro-Ro cargoes. In 2012, part of the vehicles currently transshipped at the port of St. Petersburg, will be shifted the new Ust-Luga-based terminal, which will focus on handling new imported cars.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by representatives of foreign companies, car manufacturers, companies-dealers supplying foreign cars on the Russian market, as well as representatives of the shipping lines providing regular service of Ro-Ro ferries to Russian ports.
Novaya Gavan Ro-Ro and general cargo terminal is located in the northeastern part of Luga Bay of the Gulf of Finland and is part of the sea port of Ust-Luga (Leningrad region) as a separate Cargo Area. The terminal now encompasses 64.87 hectares but the territory will be expanded to 193.12 ha, the facility owner said. Today, the 8.5m-deep terminal with 150m-long waterfront has one pier for mooring Ro-Ro vessels with side and rear ramp. RTL projects to commission the second pier in 2013.
The terminal is located close to the main customs offices and has access to two highways A-121 and M-11, which connect the port with St. Petersburg and the highway St. Petersburg - Tallinn (Estonia).
RTL Board Chairman Konstantin Skovoroda says: “The capacity of Ro-Ro terminals based at the Big Port St. Petersburg is limited by the city’s transport infrastructure. Therefore, we can increase vehicles imports in the Russian Gulf of Finland only by building and commissioning new Ro-Ro terminals that will not be restrained by entrance/exit lanes for trucks."
RTL Group (RTL) was founded in 2004 as a 3PL provider. Since 2005, the Group has been working under direct contracts with major car manufacturers. The company is a leader on the market of customs clearance of vehicles, specializes in providing best logistics solutions for import of vehicles, equipment, auto parts, etc for car assembly plants. In 2006, RTL Group in conjunction with Marine Fish Port commissioned the first Russian marine terminal for handling imported vehicles at the port of St. Petersburg.