On July 20, 2021, Delo Group put into operation a new deep-water berth No. 40A. Its length is 309 meters, the total area is almost 7.7 thousand square meters. During the construction, the most modern technologies were used to increase economic efficiency and safety, Delo Group says in its press release.
The berth was constructed as part of a major investment project “Reconstruction of KSK Grain Terminal”, the cost of the work amounted to about USD 68 million of the Group's own funds. At the end of 2020 and the first half of this year, the KSK terminal ranks second in Russia in terms of transshipment volumes.
The depth near the berth has been brought to 16.9 meters, which makes it the deepest in the Azov-Black Sea basin. This allows to receive vessels with deadweight up to 100 thousand tons and maximum draft up to 14.4 meters. Prior to its commissioning, KSK Grain Terminal could receive grain carriers with a maximum carrying capacity of up to 50 thousand tons. With the launch of the berth, the planned capacity of KSK increased to 7 million tons per year.
The launch of a modernized port infrastructure facility of this scale has not only regional but also federal significance. The opening was attended by Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Oksana Lut, Deputy Head of Rosmorrechflot Konstantin Anisimov, representatives of federal executive authorities, the leadership of Krasnodar Krai and its districts, other subjects of the Southern Federal District, Novorossiysk, the second shareholder of the KSK company “Cargill”, central offices of credit institutions, business structures, their regional offices, and the largest clients of the terminal.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the head and owner of Delo Group Sergey Shishkarev noted: “Today we are not just opening a new modern port infrastructure facility. We mark the completion of a major comprehensive investment project launched in 2015 for the reconstruction of the NUTEP and KSK terminals. The total volume of investments made by the Group in this project amounted to USD 335 million of its own funds alone, without attracting government investments.
Nevertheless, all our investment projects are always calculated taking into account the implementation of the strategic objectives of the state and national projects. The development of logistics for Russian agricultural exports will strengthen the role of Russia in the world grain market, open new sales markets for Russian farmers in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The group has always associated itself with the economic system of our country, its principle is "Developing with the economy, developing for the economy."
According to Oksana Lut, about 90% of domestic grain exports go by sea, mostly through the Azov-Black Sea ports. Taking this into account, Novorossiysk remains one of the most important transport arteries - in the past season, a third of the total volume of supplies passed through this port, with more than 10% accounted for by the KSK terminal.
As the Deputy Minister noted, the industry plans to increase grain production every year. The long-term strategy for the development of the grain complex assumes a significant increase in the harvest in the next 10 years. "Projects like this are very important from the point of view of further increasing exports and improving transport accessibility," - said Oksana Lut.
Most of the speakers noted that the successful implementation of such large investment projects in our difficult times testifies to business confidence in the steps of the Russian leadership to develop the country's economy and to a definite support for them by the business community.
During the festive event, a symbolic launch of the grain loading of the first vessel moored at the new berth - the Belfuji bulk carrier with a deadweight of 63.5 thousand tons was given.
DeloPorts is a holding company that owns and operates stevedore assets of Delo Group in the port of Novorossiysk. DeloPorts consolidates NUTEP Container Terminal, KSK Grain Terminal and Delo Service Company.
Delo Group is the largest transport and logistics holding in Russia, managing sea container terminals in the Azov-Black Sea, Baltic and Far Eastern basins, a network of railway container terminals, a fleet of containers and fitting platforms. The parent company of the Group is LLC MC Delo, 70% owned by the founder of the Group, Sergey Shishkarev, and 30% is owned by State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom.
The Group's stevedoring business includes DeloPorts holding and Global Ports, a leading container terminal operator. The transport and logistics business of the Group is made up of the multimodal transport operator Ruscon and the intermodal container operator TransContainer that owns and operates the largest fleet of containers and flatcars over the entire 1520 standard railway network.