Belarus is set to expand the Multipurpose Sea Cargo Complex Bronka (MSCC Bronka) in Saint-Petersburg. The republic is going to redirect about 7 million tonnes of its cargo to the ports of Saint-Petersburg. The construction of ports for Belarussian cargo in Saint-Petersburg and Murmansk was discussed at the meeting of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko with Governor of Russia's St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov, according to BelTA.
“We are now working hard on logistics through your city. We are building a logistics infrastructure. We are engaged in the construction of ports in your city and in Murmansk. The port in Bronka is already operating. Plans are in place to expand its capacities. We have no questions here," the head of state said.
According to the statement, the total capacity of Bronka will be more than 20 million tonnes of cargo per year (almost 10 million tonnes now). Projects are also being drafted to modernize the rail to the port.
According to earlier reports of IAA PortNews, in February 2023, Aleksey Polishchuk, Director of the Second Department of the CIS Countries, said that Russian authorities were considering the transfer of MSCC Bronka to Belarus. In March 2023, Belarus' Transport and Communications Minister Aleksei Avramenko said that the Republic of Belarus was set to complete the purchase of Bronka in 2023.
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said earlier, 20 Russian seaports already involved in exports from Belarus is not enough. The Ministry of Transport and Communication of Belarus earlier told IAA PortNews that the potential volume of Belorussian cargo to be handled in Russian ports is estimated at 30 million tonnes per year. As of today, 19 ports of Russia in the Baltic, Azov, Caspian and Black Sea basins handle foreign trade cargo of Belarus. The bulk of Belorussian cargo is handled by Great Port of Saint-Petersburg, Ust-Luga, Rostov-on-Don, Novorossiysk, Yeisk, Astrakhan and Olya.
Bronka is the only deep-water terminal in Great Port of Saint-Petersburg able to accommodate vessels of up to 347 meters in length, up to 50 meters in width and up to 13 meters in draft. As of today, MSCC Bronka is able to handle about 1.9 million TEUs and over 200,000 units of vehicles and special equipment per year.