The Passenger port of St. Petersburg and the operator of the seaport of Vyborg, together with the Kotka-Hamina regional development company (Finland), have launched a project to organize a new sea passenger traffic within the framework of the South-East Finland – Russia Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020, says press center of Passenger Port of St. Petersburg.
February 1, 2021 Kotka-Hamina regional development company Cursor Oy (Finland) together with the Vyborg seaport operator Port Logistics Ltd (Russia) and unified cruise and ferry operator of sea terminals in St. Petersburg - Passenger Port of St. Petersburg "Marine Facade" PLC (Russia) has started the implementation of the project "Connecting Vyborg, St.Petersburg and Kotka by sea routes & improving safety and border crossing customer experience of future passenger lines".
The project has several stages of implementation. At the initial stage, the partners will conduct marketing research on the cruise market in the Kotka - Vyborg - St. Petersburg cross-border triangle, determine the needs of future passenger lines customers for each of the regions, as well as the goals and objectives that need to be solved to organize a new passenger service.
At the second stage, Port Logistics Ltd and Passenger Port of St. Petersburg "Marine Facade" PLC will carry out work aimed at modernizing the morally and physically obsolete infrastructure designed to receive cruise passengers. Port Logistics Ltd plans to carry out a large-scale reconstruction of the passenger terminal of the seaport of Vyborg, which serves passengers of the M / S Carelia on the Lappeenranta - Vyborg cruise route during the summer navigation period.
In turn, Passenger Port of St. Petersburg "Marine Facade" PLC will perform work on the feasibility study of investments in the construction of a new passenger landing stage to organize a checkpoint across the state border of the Russian Federation on the Lieutenant Schmidt embankment. Currently border and customs services are located in the premises of the old landing stage "Ladoga", that was built in 1979. The berthing complex annually serves about 20 thousand cruise ship passengers, and its infrastructure and location allows it to receive river and river-sea vessels. In contrast, the sea terminal, erected on the reclaimed territories of Vasilievsky Island, was originally intended to serve sea cruise and ferry vessels. This decision was made based on the requirements to ensure the safety of navigation and the development of St. Petersburg as one of the leading cruise destinations in the Baltic region for large cruse liners of well-known international shipping companies.
Now the operator of the Passenger Port of St. Petersburg "Marine Facade" PLC is faced with the task of developing and renovating the city's infrastructure designed to receive smaller vessels. The first object for renovation, as indicated above, will be the mooring complex on the Lieutenant Schmidt embankment. The partners plan to attract an additional flow of tourists to the newly developed cruise route of the "cross-border triangle".
All works are financed by partners at their own expense and funds of the grant of the South-East Finland – Russia Cross-Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020. This Programme 2020 is one of the three cross-border cooperation programmes implemented between Finland and Russia. Programme funding is available for projects supporting innovations, education, research, technological development, SME and business development, environmental protection, climate change adaptation and disaster prevention and management. In addition, the Programme will support the promotion of border management, border security and better connections across the border.
Successful participation of partners in the competitive selection of the Programme made it possible to receive a grant in the amount of 749 196 euros, which is 80% of the cost of the entire project - 937 208 euros.
At the final stage of the project, the partners, led by the Kotka-Hamina regional development company Cursor Oy, plan to develop a new tourist product, including a cruise on the Kotka - Vyborg - St. Petersburg route. The implementation of the project will not only attract an additional flow of tourists, but also provide new directions for work for tour operators, guides and other workers in the tourism sector of hospitality, as well as present this border region on the international arena as an attractive destination for sea tourism.