“Going Dutch” on motor roads

The master plan for the development of motor roads around the port of Ust-Luga has been worked out in July of the current year. According to Maxim Shirokov, Director General of Company Ust-Luga OJSC, one of the alternative solutions for a highway problem is to establish a partnership involving all the port’s investors.

Load is growing

Unlike the railways, the problems of which are of no comprehensive character, the state of motor roads gives rise to unfavorable criticism. Meanwhile, motor transport is to account for about one third of cargo to be taken out of the port considering the development program. In the future, the capacity of Ust-Luga port is to reach 170 million tonnes per year with some 97 million tonnes falling on railway and about 20-25 million tonnes – on motor transport. The rest 50 million tonnes are to be transported by pipelines.

The current state of highway infrastructure considerably hinders operation of two terminals: multifunctional transshipment complex Yug-2 being implemented by Company Ust-Luga and Baltic Container Terminal being built by National Container Company (NCC). Both terminals are designed to handle containerized cargo and ro-ro cargo, which are to be transported mainly by motor transport. The capacity of Baltic Container Terminal, which is to be put into operation in 2009, will initially make 500,000 TEU. The Terminal’s maximal design capacity is 3 million TEU. The first phase of Yug-2 (was put into operation in June of the current year), makes 100,000 units per year, which multiplies the load on highways.

“Probably, a sort of partnership may be established to upgrade the approaches to the port,” Maxim Shirokov, Director General of Company Ust-Luga OJSC said. “I suppose all the investors are to contribute to construction of internal highwaya”. BOD Chairman of Company Ust-Luga Valery Israjlit spoke in June about the possibility to create a special private fund through introduction of a fee for using of highways to the port. The resources of such a fund could be used for infrastructure development. However, today the company does not clarify possible volume of the fund.

Development alternatives

As for Federal roads, there are several alternatives for their development today. By the end of the year it is supposed to repair the road to Narva highway and further, which is to be used by trucks going to Moscow by federal highway ‘Russia’.

Construction of the first phase of Federal highway Luga-Veliky Novgorod is scheduled for the next year. This highway will allow transport freight form the port to Central Russia round about St. Petersburg.  The highway is to have at least two lanes at each direction. By the end of summer RosAvtoDor plans to announce a tender for design of a road to Novgorod.

There are also plans to reconstruct Keikino-Petrodvorets road with a link to Ivangorod, to build a transport detour around Ivangorod as well as a highway parallel to Narva highway. Highway engineers say that technologically it is easier to build the second road that to widen Narva highway.

Reference:

In 2008, investments of Russian Railways OJSC into approaches to the port at Mga – Gatchina – Ivangorod and Veimarn – Ust-Luga sections will make RUR 14 billion. The highway’s planned capacity is 12.7 million tonnes for 2008, 36 million tonnes for 2010.

The regional and the federal budgets are to allocate RUR 5 billion for construction, repair and maintenance of regional highways of the Leningrad region. Additional RUR 3.3 billion is to be allocated for federal highways.