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Our present and future concerns are all here
Once I have said that the restoration of Russia is going to begin from the Leningrad region and some people could not help smiling. But I have known about the geopolitical, economical and demographical potential of our region. Our decisive steps aimed at the realisation of this potential capability is being added nowadays as well. Keeping in mind the forthcoming St.Petersburg economic forum I would like to touch upon one of the most important issues which we are going to deal with nowadays and in the future — that is our investment policy. Geopolitical changes in Europe in the last decade are going to be discussed at the forum, in particular those having led to the redistribution of transport functions among the regions adjacent to the Baltic Sea. One of the subjects for consideration at the forum will be our former union republics having in no time become our rivals at the international service market in terms of cargo transportation. I do not mind the economic well-being of our nearest neighbours, but most of their budget incomes are provided from the transit cargo of Russia’s origin. Russia, as represented by St.Petersburg and the Leningrad region, is apparently losing in the competition in the market of transportation services with the Baltic sea countries. The social-economic consequences of this loss are, however, very unpleasant: the creation of new jobs in the neighbouring countries whereas a considerable deficit of employment opportunities is observed in the Leningrad region and St.Petersburg; the cargo transit through other territories is actually paid for at the expense of Russia’s citizens; the state budget is therefore deprived of substantial tax returns, with the latter being one of the reasons for the poor financing of all social programs. According to specialist forecasts the export potential of St.Petersburg and the Leningrad region is going to be fairly high during the next 10-20 years. Raw materials are going to dominate the main freight traffic of the nearest future: the annual volume of crude oil is 60-65 million tons, with up to 20 million tons being processed in Kirishi, 15-20 million tons of coal per year, 10-15 million tons of mineral resources, 10 million cubic metres of timber. Russia’s political and business circles, as well as the authorities of the subjects of the Federation of the north-western Russian region have long been concerned about the rational use of domestic export capabilities. A proof of this concern is a big package of investment projects having been discussed on the development of the transport infrastructure of the coastal regions of the Gulf of Finland. The main spheres of the supposed investments are the following: the construction of the new port facilities on the Russia’s coast of the Gulf of Finland; laying pipe line systems for oil product deliveries to the new oil handling port facilities; the construction of cargo terminals and storehouses for cargo transit within the framework of the IX intermodal transport corridor; works on the reconstruction and modernization of the existing port capacities on the Gulf of Finland, above all, the port of St.Petersburg; work on the formation of regional and international transport corridors (sections of automobile roads and railways). Our investment projects are passing through different stages of their development. The forum participants should possibly learn about the most “advanced” ones — these are the port in Batareinaya harbour (handling of 15 million tons of oil and oil products per year),the oil product pipe line Kirishi- Batareinaya harbour (its annual capacity is 12 million tons), a complex of port structures in the Luzhskaya Bay (up to 35 million tons of the general cargo per year). Also interesting for both domestic and foreign investors are such projects as the international cargo airport in Veshevo (450 thousand tons of cargo per year), the port-technological complex in Primorsk (including a gas liquefaction plant), a container terminal in the settlement of Vistino that has a 2.5 million tons annual capacity, a cargo customs terminal in the town of Vsevolozhsk (10 thousand tonns of container and general cargo per year). Altogether we have got several dozen investment projects, developments, suggestions that are somehow linked with the development of the transport infrastructrure. They are capable of causing a sharp change in the situation at Russia’s coastal territories of the Gulf of Finland, and giving us an opportunity of using a fairly high regional potential for international transportation services provision. I hope that the participants of the St.Petersburg economic forum will be interested in our cargo transit programme in order that the “gate” to Europe be restored due to our joint efforts and used. The development of the transport infrastructure is inevitably accompanied by the development of the export-oriented production facilities and refining industry and the Leningrad regional potentials for both are fairly high. It is enough to name the Kirishi plant as one of the major petroleum refining plants in Europe, or “Phosphorite” amalgamation that has developed new highly effective types of fertilizers. We also possess forests and natural stones with unique properties. To put it in short, there is a broad field of activities for investors. As for us, we are eager to co-operate. We do believe that this co-operation is going to be beneficial for all of us.
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