Ports will not be built right away – WWN No. 42 (7487) of 03/14/2023
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Rosmorport does not rule out a possible delay for a year or two in the completion of the construction of some new terminals in seaports, which were planned to be commissioned in 2024. This can happen with projects in Ust-Luga, Vanino, Novorossiysk – primarily due to a change in equipment suppliers. According to experts, there is no tragedy in such a shift: it is natural, given the fundamental change in logistics flows, and is necessary for investors and shippers to solve current problems with the fleet and customer base.
Some investment projects in seaports due in 2024 may be postponed for a year or two, Andrey Boldorev, head of the FSUE Rosmorport Investment and Strategic Development Department, told reporters. “A shift is possible on the Novotrans project in Ust-Luga, on the grain terminal project in Novorossiysk, there will be a shift on Vaninotransugol (VTU), a number of projects are in question,” he said (cited by Interfax). As Mr. Boldorev explained to Kommersant, among other projects, the completion date of which may be pushed back, is also the Ultramar fertilizer transshipment terminal in Ust-Luga.
In most cases, the reason for the shift lies in problems with the supply of foreign equipment, Andrey Boldorev explains. In the case of WTU, there are also infrastructural restrictions on the railway.
The Novaya Pristan project in Novorossiysk is jointly implemented by the Novorossiysk Grain Terminal of Demetra-Holding and the Novorossiysk Grain Plant, controlled by OZK, where Demetra is also a minority shareholder. It involves the extension of berth No. 3 in the port of Novorossiysk, the construction of two new deep-water berths and the modernization of the terminal, which will increase the transshipment capacity to 25 million tons of grain per year by 2025.
The Novotrans and Ultramar projects are being built in Ust-Luga. Ultramar is focused on transshipment of 15 million tons of mineral fertilizers and 10 million tons of other cargo, including iron ore. The Novotrans Lugaport terminal is designed for 24 million tons of bulk and general cargo. The VTU project (Kolmar Group of Companies) involves the construction of the second stage of a coal transshipment complex in Muchke Bay with a capacity of 12 million tons.
Formally, these projects should be introduced in 2024, however, for a number of them, a possible delay in commissioning until 2025 has already been announced. In Novotrans, Kommersant was assured that they did not expect any shifts in terms. Demeter declined to comment. Kolmar Group did not respond to Kommersant’s request.
Alexander Drozdenko, Governor of the Leningrad Region, June 16, 2022:
“Because of the sanctions, the leading logistics giants associated with maritime container transportation, as well as the largest seaports in Europe, refuse to work with Russian cargo.”
Problems with equipment are a well-known story and typical not only for port investment projects, says Mikhail Burmistrov, head of Infoline-Analytics. But you need to understand that the deadlines for the delivery of port projects can and should change flexibly, taking into account changes in the structure of cargo flows and the needs of shippers. The fact that a number of projects will not be launched in 2024 is not a tragedy, but the most adequate response to the current situation, the expert notes: investors, especially in the North-West, need to adapt to changes in the cargo base, cargo owners need to solve problems with the fleet. So, there are not enough bulk carriers for transshipment of bulk cargoes, the government is going to subsidize their purchase, but “this still needs to be done,” the expert notes. He emphasizes that given the geopolitical situation, logistics is changing dramatically, and the old contract base under which these port projects were announced may be reduced in the new conditions, and at the same time, new opportunities for deliveries to markets outside Europe may appear. The main thing, says Mr. Burmistrov, is to avoid a situation where the implementation of projects is impeded by infrastructural restrictions.
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