Sea route of North-South corridor is poorly developed but is the most preferable one - FCS
This route excludes additional transit countries
Sea route of the North-South corridor is the most preferable one for development but is still underdeveloped due to logistics and infrastructure limits, Vladimir Ivin, Deputy Head of FCS of Russia, told IAA PortNews.
This corridor has three routes: two land routes - western and eastern, and a sea route - through the Caspian Sea. According to Vladimir Ivin, they all develop differently. “At the moment, the capacity of the corridor is small, about 5 million tonnes of cargo per year. An increase is expected by 2030, tenfold or more, according to various calculations. These 50 and more million tonnes are expected to be equally distributed among the three routes. The eastern one is already operational. It is based on the railway that runs through Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Russian Railways says it is already ready to transport 5 million tonnes and it transports as much cargo as is provided with no problems, although on an irregular basis so far,” he said adding that the western branch is more complicated - it is necessary to complete the construction of the railway in Iran for a link with the Azerbaijan railway network.
“As for the offshore route, we consider it as the most preferable one, since it excludes additional transit countries, hence lower risks. However, this direction is still underdeveloped due to logistics and infrastructure limits. There are plans to develop SEZ Lotos, organize ferry transportation to the ports of Astrakhan and Olya, and a container line to the port of Makhachkala. There are our customs posts in all these ports and they are ready for an increase in cargo traffic as the volumes here are small so far,” said Vladimir Ivin. According to him, the Government of Russia has planned additional measures for its development with a comprehensive approach that takes into account the shortage of the fleet, port infrastructure problems, the need for dredging, as well as the issue of balancing port dues and freight rates.
Read more in IAA PortNews interview with Vladimir Ivin- Shortage of large ships and container facilities were among key limiting factors in 2022 >>>>
