A solemn ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new interchange junction of St. Petersburg Ring Road (KAD) was held today, Dec. 16, the PortNews correspondent reports. The junction provides direct access to the under construction Marine multipurpose cargo handling complex (MMPK) Bronka (outer harbour Bronka).
The opening ceremony was attended by several dignitaries, including Deputy Transport Minister Nikolay Asaul, General Director of the Bronka investor PHOENIX company Dmitry Mikhalchenko, head of the Directorate for the Construction of KAD of St. Petersburg Vyacheslav Petushenko.
Mr. Asaul noted that reclamation of the territory for the future port Bronka has been completed and the port will be open for ship calls in 2015.
"Today we have launched the road access to the port. Investments in the interchange junction totaled RUB 1.1 billion and the money will pay off very quickly, within six months of the port operation. Today we need to complete the railway tracks of the interchange to link all these sites," Mr. Asaul said.
The head of Phoenix LLC expressed confidence that the port project will be completed on time and on budget, and that the company will fulfill all of its obligations entrusted by the government of the Russian Federation.
Vyacheslav Petushenko said that the interchange junction is the last one to be built within the Rign Road. Now the Directorate works on the reconstruction of the northern section of the loop, from Gorsky to Priozersky highway.
"This section needs reconstruction. We will expand it from 4 to 6 lanes. We are going to submit all documents shortly to GlavGosEkpertiza, and will begin works in 2015," said Petushenko.
He added that the reconstruction first phase is scheduled to finish in 2016, the completion - in 2017. The total cost of works is valued at RUB 1.3 billion.
The Ring Road interchange junction near the station of Bronka is a link to the port of Bronka now under construction. The so-called outer harbour is part of Big Port St. Petersburg.
The section construction customer is "Construction Directorate of Transport Bypass" St. Petersburg".
Development of the St. Petersburg transportation hub (Big Port St.-Petersburg) is being implemented in accordance with the general scheme of the port expansion, developed in line with the Russian Government’s order (March 21, 1998 № 392-p) and approved by the Ministry of Transportation. The above general scheme involves both the development of port handling facilities at St. Petersburg sea port, and the creation of new transshipment facilities in the Bronka. The federal government on August 20, 2009 approved the boundaries of Big Port St. Petersburg that included the territory and water area of the future MMPK Bronka.
The uninhabited territory of "Bronka" is directly adjacent to the Ring Road (KAD) around St. Petersburg. A three-level interchange of KAD and Krasnoflotsky highway provides direct access for vehicles from the MMPK "Bronka" to the KAD and then to the network of federal highways. In addition, the availability of rail infrastructure will likely attract additional container and ferry traffic flows, shipped today via the ports of neighboring countries.
The Marine Multipurpose Complex Bronka (MMPK 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 will feature the 1.175 m-long waterfront (including 5 berths). The waterfront of rolling cargo terminal will be 630 meters (3 berths).
The Bronka Phase 1 capacity is projected to be 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 Multipurpose Complex will be able to handle Panamax containerships and the ferries of Finnstar class. The first ship call is expected in 2014.
Private investors are expected to inject nearly RUB 43.7 billion in the project with the Russian Government investment at some RUB 15.2 billion.
Upon completion of the outer harbor facilities annual direct tax payments to the budget of St. Petersburg is expected to reach RUB 1.7 billion (plus indirect tax – RUB 5.1 bn), the federal budget will get RUB 2.0 billion a year (RUB 5.9bn).
Opening ceremony photo release >>>>
