The Presidium of the State Council of Russia has adopted a national transportation strategy. In accordance with this strategy, seaports of the North-West region of Russia should receive the main part of export-import cargo to and from Russia by 2010.

According to the Vice-President of Russian Railroads, Salman Babaev, the redirection of cargo freight from the Black and Azov seas to the North-West is “due to the problems that Russia faces in the Bosphorus Strait and the Kerch Strait”.

According to the unofficial story told by representatives of the Russian Transportation Ministry, Russia is disengaging the Black sea facilities because of the profitable export of Kazakh oil.

The development of ports in Ust-Luga, Primorsk, and and Vysotsk is envisioned by the Transport Strategy of Russia for 2010-2025. The strategy was approved by the the Presidium of the State Council at the end of the last year. In the Ministry of Transport it is supposed that Ust-Luga will become a major port, where work with coal, forest products, and construction materials will take place. Primorsk and Vysotsk will become oil ports. As it has been announced earlier, new railroads lines will be built in 2004 which connect the Baltic Sea ports with Russia’s main rail lines. Thanks to the new railroad lines the turnover of cargo in Petersburg ports will increase by 3 times. The railway projects will end in 2010, and it costs around 20 billion rubles.

News source: www.dp.ru
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