RF Accounts Chamber found Russian IWW potential not to be used in full
Delayed delivery of Nizhegorodsky and Bagayevsky hydrosystems affected the development of inland cargo transportation
Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation says the potential of Russia’s inland water ways is not being used in full and the tasks of the first phase of IWW Development Strategy (until 2020) have not been fulfilled.
“The network of inland water ways operated in Russia totals almost 102,000 km in 60 entities of the country. River transport accounts for only about 2% of the total cargo turnover in Russia. Low volumes of cargo transportation by inland waterways is primarily attributed to deterioration of IWW parameters, particularly within the Unified Deepwater System of Russia’s European part linking the Baltic, White, Azov, Black and Caspian seas. As a comprehensive solution of this problem, Phase I of the Strategy envisaged implementation of large-scale investment projects on development of IWW infrastructure. It included the construction of two hydrosystems, Nizhegorodsky on the Volga river and Bagayevsky on the Don river. However, those projects have not been completed”, Valery Bogomolov, Auditor of the Accounts Chamber, said at the Collegium meeting.
“By the end of IWW Development Strategy Phase I, cargo traffic on inland waterways including transit and foreign trade cargo decreased from 118.6 million tonnes in 2017 to 109 million tonnes in 2020, cargo turnover fell from 67.3 to 64.3 billion tonnes”, said the auditor.
There are problems with achieving one more key target of the Strategy – improvement of inland water transport safety, according to the results of federal targeted programme GLONASS. Equipment acquired for RUB 285.6 million to enhance navigation safety is not being used. Warranty storage period has expired in some cases. The Agency should undertake measures immediately”, said Valery Bogomolov.
According to RF Accounts Chamber, the Programme of Sea and River Ships Leasing should be revised. It does not take into consideration that navigation in the Far North lasts for four months maximum. That is not enough for shipping companies to pay back a loan.
Andrey Lavrishchev, head of the Federal Marine and River Transport Agency (Rosmorrechflot), who took part in the Collegium meeting, approved the findings of the Accounts Chamber and told about nmeasures undertaken to improve the situation. “Instructions have already been given regarding GLONASS. A roadmap will be developed and equipment not installed so far will be installed in 2022. A competition has been held under the Bagayevsky hydrosystem project. The winner has been announced. The facility is to be built by the end of 2024. The bottleneck near Nizhny Novgorod will be addressed differently. The competition winner has also been announced with the works to be completed in December 2024”, told the official.
The audit findings are available in Russian >>>>
