Belarus will build a port in the north-west of Russia

Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko said that the republic’s authorities had decided to create a port capacity in northwestern Russia. Consent to this, according to the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, he received from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Minsk wants to use the increased port capacity to export Belarusian products.

“This applies to all types of cargo: mineral fertilizers, timber cargo, rolling cargo, container transportation. Therefore, several proven options for further development of own capacities were presented. A decision has been made on one of them, it will be implemented in the very near future,” Mr. Golovchenko said after a meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko (quoted from BELTA).

At the same time, the Prime Minister declined to name the specific coordinates of the future port, specifying only that it is about the northwestern region of Russia.

“Let’s close the deal and then we’ll show the cards. The project will start working in the near future, by the end of the year for sure,” the minister said.

Mr. Golovchenko also did not rule out the possibility of new locations for the construction of port facilities. “As for two or three additional locations, the president demanded to conduct an additional analysis of economic parameters and clarify the cost of investments,” he said.

According to the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin personally supported the decision to build the port. “Putin said: choose any point and start loading,” the head of state said.

At the moment, Belarus cooperates with nine Russian ports on different seas. Moreover, there are special tariffs for the republic that are mutually beneficial for both parties.

Previously, the Russian government changed an agreement on cooperation with Belarus for the transportation and transshipment of Belarusian oil products for delivery through the seaports of the Russian Federation. The new version does not have a region indication. In 2021-2023, Belarus plans to export about 10 million tons of oil products through Russian ports.

Milena Kostereva