Two new residents of Kaliningrad SEZ to be engaged in cargo shipping
The companies will be provided with low-cost loans for 7 years
Administration of Kaliningrad SEZ has included investment projects of Marine Line and Kaliningrad Shipping Company into the register. The two new residents of Kaliningrad SEZ will be provided with privileges for organization of cargo transportation between the region and the mainland Russia, according to press center of the regional government.
Marine Line is going to buy a sea-going ship of ice class with a gross capacity of almost 4 thousand tonnes for transportation of general cargo and containers. The vessel will be able to make up to 4 round voyages per month. The investor expects to deliver up to 12 thousand tonnes of cargo or 984 containers per month.
Kaliningrad Shipping Company is to buy a ship of 3 thousand tonnes in capacity to organize shipping with the same frequency of round voyages.
Total investments of the two residents are to exceed RUB 600 million. Over the period of three years, the companies will create almost 150 new jobs.
The last two months have thus seen three new residents of Kaliningrad SEZ. In December 2022, the list of Kaliningrad SEZ residents has been expanded with a new company, Leo Logistic. The company is set to acquire a ship for transportation of general cargo and containers.
As the participants of the soft financing programme launched in November 2022, the companies will be provided with low-cost loans for 7 years (from RUB 5.7 million tonnes to RUB 300 million at annual rate of 2%.
According to the Administration of Kaliningrad SEZ, the register currently numbers 277 investment projects with over RUB 178.5 billion to be invested over the first three years. When fully operational, the projects will employ over 50,000 people.
In summer, Lithuania notified Kaliningrad authorities about the ban on certain goods transit passing by railway through Lithuania to the Kaliningrad region effective from June 18. Although later EU allowed Russia to transit some sanctioned goods by rail transport to its exclave via the Europe, Kaliningrad Region Governor Anton Alikhanov used to declare readiness to strengthen Baltiysk – Ust-Luga ferry line.
In September 2022, RF Government approved allocation of RUB 1.37 billion from the Reserve Fund to the Federal Marine and River Transport Agency (Rosmorrechflot) for subsidizing of cargo transportation to the Kaliningrad Region by the end of the year. In 2023, Rosmorrechflot is to get RUB 3.8 billion got that purpose.
Anton Alikhanov earlier estimated the demand of seaborne transit links with the exclave at 22 ships. As of today 13 vessels including four ferries operate on the line.
