The construction of an approach channel to the multipurpose terminal Bronka (the outer harbor of Big Port St. Petersburg) is scheduled for 2013, the PortNews correspondent reports quoting the Transport Ministry head.
The Russian Government will set aside some 10-15 bullion rubles for funding the channel construction, Transport Ministry Igor Levitin said Thursday, speaking at the business forum "Transport Week-2011."
The official participating in a debate with Serik Zhusupov, executive director of the Association of Sea Commercial Ports (ASOP), proposed to discuss the future of Bronka.
“Was Bronka projected to bring additional trade flow to the port of St. Petersburg, or just for redistribution of traffic volumes between the existing marine terminals in the city?" he asked Mr. Zhusupov.
According to estimates of ASOP’s Zhusupov, the new terminal will be required, along with those of the St. Petersburg transshipment hubs. He believes the facility launch might facilitate inflow of cargo destined for the Russian consumers from European to Russian ports.
"We’ll face soon a shortage of such terminals. We’ll have to attract cargoes from Europe," Zhusupov said.
"We need to decide: are we developing Bronka as a new cargo terminal for additional volumes or just relocating the terminal facilities from St. Petersburg downtown?" raised the question Igor Levitin. In the first place, such a decision should be taken by the regional authorities and ASOPs, he said.
Deputy Transport Minister Viktor Olersky, who joined the discussion, noted that the issue of ports relocation is common for many large cities.
"I believe that sooner or later, we’ll have to remove production facilities from our major cities,” Victor Olersky was quoted as saying, adding that it’s up the state to prepare the infrastructure. He also said that the new terminal operator should set a date for the facility commissioning as there has been a container trade growth in the region.
"I believe that Bronka is by far the best place in terms of location of such facilities," the deputy minister said.
The Multipurpose Transshipment Complex Bronka will comprise three specialized facilities: a container terminal encompassing 107 hectares, Ro-Ro terminal of 57 ha and logistics center of 42 ha. Container terminal features 1.175 m-long waterfront (including 5 berths), waterfront of rolling cargo terminal will be 630 meters (3 berths).
Bronka first phase capacity is projected at 1.45 million TEUs and 260,000 units of Ro-Ro cargoes. The facility’s container throughput is planned to be increased to 1.9 million TEUs. The Bronka transshipment hub will be able to handle Panamax containerships and the ferries of Finnstar class. The first ship arrival is expected in 2014.
A fully-owned subsidiary of JSC Holding Company "Forum" Phoenix Ltd. was founded in 2007 specifically for the construction of the Bronka multifunctional marine cargo complex to be located in the new Cargo Area of the Big Port St. Petersburg. The project is supported by the Russian Ministry of Transport and the St. Petersburg City Administration.