The Port Vera maritime transshipment terminal, which opened in 2019, has strengthened the position of the Russian Federation in the global coal market. The efficient operation of this facility guarantees a long-term supply of coal to domestic consumers in the Pacific region, as well as to our country’s foreign partners.
In 2017, the first deputy governor of Primorsky Krai Vasily Usoltsev said that the situation on the world market contributes to an increase in the volume of trade in raw materials, and coal is no exception. The official also pointed out that the operating capacities of coal terminals in the region cannot currently fully meet the growing transshipment volumes. In addition, Usoltsev drew attention to the fact that residents of the port cities of Primorsky Krai (Nakhodka, Vladivostok, Posyet), through which coal is exported, face the problem of the presence of coal dust in the city streets, which negatively affects the processes associated with the formation of a comfortable urban environment.
The way out of this situation was the construction of specialized high-tech terminals, outside the boundaries of the colonies. This is how the idea of creating the port of Sukhodol in the Telyakovskoye Bay (its opening is planned for this year) and the port of Vera, located on the coast of the Ussuri Bay, in the Cape Otkryty region. born in the Primorsky Territory (commissioning of objects of the first stage of construction took place in 2019).
Initially, it was assumed that the construction of the new Port Vera coal terminal would become an integral part of the Russian-Chinese project, which would include the construction of a thermal power plant with power lines to export electricity to the People’s Republic of China , the development of the Ogodzhinskoye (coal) deposit and the construction of the port itself. On the Russian side, this memorandum was signed in 2014 by the state-owned company Rostec, and on the Chinese side, by Shenhua. At that time, the boss of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, estimated investments in construction at 8-10 billion dollars. Later it became known that a Chinese company was withdrawing from this project, and the place of the new co-investor was taken by the company A-Property, owned by Russian businessman Albert Avdolyan.
In 2020, after the commissioning of the first stage of the terminal, the head of Rosmorrechflot Alexander Poshivai said that by the end of the year the capacity of the port will amount to 7 million tons. It was expected to reach nameplate capacity, which will reach 20 million tonnes, in 2022 after the completion of the second stage of the terminal’s construction. The total investment in the implementation of this project until 2023 was estimated at 15.4 billion rubles. With the planned development of the port, it is expected that the annual volume of tax deductions will exceed 2 billion rubles per year.
Over time, the functionality of the new port has also changed, initially the terminal specialized in the handling of goods from the Ogodzhinsky field, which has already been mentioned above, but already in May 2020 it began transshipment of raw materials of the Elga field (coking coal), after the company “A -Property (a major investor in this project) bought this land from Mechel for 97 billion rubles.
We should also not forget the social projects whose implementation became possible with the construction of the terminal. So, the handling company “Port Vera”, serving the terminal, was actively engaged in the repair and creation of new roads in the surrounding areas. By April 2020, at least 80 million rubles had already been invested in the repair of problematic sections of the Podyapolskoye-Mysovoy-Bolshoy Kamen road. The Ministry of Economic Development of the Primorsky Territory pointed out that the interaction of large companies with the population is one of the key indicators that characterizes the effectiveness of large economic projects implemented in the region.
The great importance of this project is also underlined by its inclusion in the rating of investment projects for assessing the cumulative impact on the socio-economic development of the Far East, compiled by experts from the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2019. “Port Vera” took ninth place there.
Against the background of the economic restrictions that Russia is currently facing, the development of transport infrastructure in the Far East is of particular importance for our country. New facilities will increase the presence of the Russian Federation in the Asia-Pacific region, simplifying the delivery of goods to friendly countries. So, at the moment, six new ports are being built simultaneously in the Primorsky Territory, which will add 100 million tons to the existing cargo turnover. In the context of growing coal exports from Russia to China and India (+11.2% and +147% respectively), such a development vector can be considered a rather competent decision. One of the first projects to achieve these goals was Port Vera.
Do not forget the positive effect for the subjects of the Far East themselves. The increased attention of the first people of the state to the development of this region suggests that many people have recently understood the strategic importance of these territories, which is expressed not only in words, but also in real activities. A certain economic backwardness of the subjects of the Far Eastern Federal District, caused by the historical, political and geographical features of the development of our country, leads to negative consequences. In economic terms, the Russian Federation has a pronounced inclination towards its European part, which subsequently largely determined its asymmetric development.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the large sea terminal “Port Vera” was able to strengthen the position of the Russian Federation as one of the key players in the commercial market, becoming one of the first such projects in the Far East , it was in many ways ahead of its time which, just a few years after the terminal was put into operation, began to be characterized by gigantic sanction pressures on our country. The operation of the Port Vera terminal guarantees the long-term supply of coal to domestic consumers in the Pacific region, as well as foreign partners of the Russian Federation.
Author: Viktor Anufriev
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