Yevgeny Novoseltsev,
Deputy Director General
The JSC "Far Eastern Marine Fleet Research Institute"

         Russia's Far East is best suited for cooperation with the Asian Pacific countries. External economic relations are crucial for its development. First, it is closer to the rapidly developing countries in Asia and the Pacific than to the major Russian industrial centers. The shipping costs from Japan to Far Eastern Russia are 3-5 times lower than from the European part of Russia. Second, the Far Eastern economy is connected to the national economy through an inter-sector exchange rather than through industrial and technical cooperation. Third, production and consumption in the Russian Far East and in some Asian Pacific countries is in most cases mutually complemented.
        The interests of Russia as a Eurasian power are geared not only towards the West but to the East as well. In this respect, the Primorsky district is an important meeting point with the dynamically developing Asian Pacific region.
        During the reform years, the decline of cargo transportation through ports in the Far East weakened its economic relations with the center of the Russia. The result was the reexamination of the role of transportation in the international labor division. The development of the Far East has again become possible thanks to the transportation networks of the Asian Pacific countries and to newly formed trade and cargo relations.
        The multi-modal transportation system is the most effective in the Far East. It allows operators to use the advantages of each type of transportation and offer consumers high quality products at reasonable prices. This is also relevant for corridor No. 2, which needs to be extended as far as the ports in Primorye and the Asian Pacific region along the following routes:
- Northeastern provinces of China - southern Primorye - USA (and Canadian) West Coast.
- Northeastern provinces of China - southern Primorye -Japan, South Korea and other Asian Pacific countries.
- Europe - southern Primorye - Asian Pacific countries
- Europe - Russian railroad - Japan
        The northeastern provinces of China that link to the Russian transportation network have an enormous potential. Two of them - Heilunjiang and Girin have no exit to the sea and this predetermines its external trade. Northeastern China's exports are carried out through the Daliang port.
        China must create new exits to the sea because its port and railroad are overloaded (especially the Harbin - Shenyang section) and its industrially developed centers are far from the port. Under these conditions, the ports in Primorye could receive the cargo flows from the adjoining Chinese provinces and partly relieve the ports in Japan and Korea that hold the cargo in transit from North America to China.
        In view of the European experience, work is underway now in Primorye to create a transportation corridor between the Chinese northeastern provinces, Primorye and the USA. This idea has been supported in the USA (in the Seattle and Tacoma ports) and it is also being carefully examined by Chinese specialists. The proposed route already transports more than 50 thousand containers a year. It is 2630 km shorter than the conventional route from the USA through the ports of Japan and Daliang. Correspondingly, the cost of delivering one container is almost 600 USD lower. There are also other routes through Primorye from China to Japan and Korea that have significant advantages. A recently established container line is in operation on all directions through the Vladivostok, Posiet and Zarubino ports while coal is being transported from China through the Vostochny port.
        A direct railway connection between the Trans-Siberian Railroad and Japan through the Sakhalin Island is essential for the transportation network and trade relations. All the necessary conditions exist for implementing this project: a direct passenger and cargo communication between Japan, Russia and Europe; Japan's need for raw materials and fuel. This railway would be loaded with cargo containers (between Japan, Central Asia and Europe) and raw materials (coal, oil and ores).
        The development of this project depends to a great extent on Russia. It needs to connect the mainland with the Sakhalin Island and open the possibility for Japan to construct a bridge to Sakhalin from its side. The creation of international transportation corridors across the Far East will give Russia a tremendous income. This will allow it to fully utilize the Primorsky district's infrastructure, join the Asian-Pacific region in international economic cooperation, participate more actively in the creation and development of the industrial exporting zone and intensify foreign investments. Transportation will carry raw materials to the industrial regions of Russia and the Asian Pacific countries and therefore, open new opportunities for the economic development of our country.