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At the opening of the Forum held at Taurida Palace Mr. Yakovlev reminded the attending members of the government of Russia, heads of the UN's European Economic Committee (UN EEC), the Economic and Social Committee for Asia and the Pacific Ocean (ESCAPO UN) and the Directorate General of the European Commonwealth's 7th Committee, and delegates from Europe, Asia and Russia, that a quarter of a century ago two West German scientists, Hagen Beinhau and Ernst Smakke predicted in their work on life in 2000 that a united transport system would be created by the beginning of the next millennium. Mr. Yakovlev said, that, "We are very close to fulfilling this prediction." He hoped that the Forum would stimulate further development of transport links between Europe and Asia, which would be another step for Russia in integrating and interfacing its transport infrastructure with intercontinental communications networks. -"The issues related to the transport complex," he continued "have lately been given top priority by the administration of St. Petersburg. We are guided not only by the desire to follow traditions and to create an appropriate image. One of the main factors is purely pragmatic: the transport complex brings additional funds to the city's budget and creates new jobs. Thus, funds from transport grew by almost 16 per cent last year. The city's geographic location as a sort of 'Eurasian Gateway' makes it possible for St. Petersburg to develop it further as a center of transit trade, an important link in the 9th International Transport Corridor.
St. Petersburg's administration and the government of Leningrad Region carried out the zoning of the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland and the Neva Bay. This was aimed at defining the prospects for port business development in the region. This is of prime importance today as it is essential for transit freight traffic. The volume of processed cargo has been estimated at 150 million tons, with St. Petersburg processing 60 million tons of the total. The term "Greater Port of St. Petersburg" has been introduced. 26.5 million tons of cargo passed last year through the port (a 21.4 per cent increase as compared to cargo volume in 1996).
We will achieve the targeted results by modernizing the existing facilities of the St. Petersburg Seaport, which will permit it to process an additional 9 million tons annually. The construction of new port facilities with an overall capacity of 13.5 million tons of cargo in the locks of the flood barrier and in the town of Lomonosov will also add to the success of the project. Further increases will be guaranteed by intensifying and speeding-up cargo loading and unloading. We will also try to make St. Petersburg seaport more attractive by optimizing all the border and customs procedures and by adopting tariffs, dues and rates that already exist on the Baltic Sea. The possibility of further growth of the city's port is real and supported by the fact that the upward trend has persisted this year as well. We have the support of the Russian government. In November 1997 we signed the Memorandum of Mutual Understanding with the Department of Market Development of the Netherlands' Ministry of Economy. The memorandum covers the improvement of the management and administration of St. Petersburg Greater Port's and presents a plan for its integrated development. Today we plan to continue our dialogue with the Minister of Public Transport and Waterways of the Netherlands, Ms. Joritsma-Lebbink, with the prospect of carrying out the things we have been discussing. The developments in our port business have attracted G.I.D. International of Britain, several German firms from Bremenhafen and Frankfurt, and FINNLINES of Finland. As to NESTE-PETERSBURG JSC, it has already begun building an oil terminal in the township of Bronka. Our aim is not rivalry. We are trying to consolidate the efforts of all the Baltic Sea ports in order to, to quote last year's Declaration signed by heads of delegations from the majority of these port cities, "assist the integration of the Baltic Sea Region into the Europe of the 21st century". Both the "Baltic Initiative of the St. Petersburg-98" project and the March meeting of the heads of administration of Helsinki, St. Petersburg and Stockholm, known as the "Baltic Three (Troika)" aim at that. I took part in the Troika meeting. It was there that the idea of creating the 'Baltic Ring' that would involve the European Commonwealth was first aired. And, finally, the regular meeting of the Committee of Senior Officials of the Baltic Sea Council suggested turning St. Petersburg into the EC's springboard. As regards cargo, the Planning Committee of the Council of Ministers of Northern States, predicts there will be plenty for everybody. Practical steps made in keeping with the decisions of the Helsinki Forum to attract cargo traffic from Asia and the Pacific Region to the 9th Transport Corridor will further guarantee this. The fact that one author who published his work before the convening of the St. Petersburg Forum entitled it "To the West Along Routes Running to the East" is quite telling. The work of the Center for Developing Social, Cultural and Economic Connections with Middle Eastern countries as well as that of the Fund for Business cooperation with the countries of the Asian-Pacific Region (both were established in St. Petersburg in late 1997) will be proceeding along those lines. We support the concept of developing the international transport corridors and visualize each of them as a symbiosis of all types of transport. That is why St. Petersburg together with Leningrad Region worked out the interdepartmental "Transportation and Technological Support of Cargo Traffic Across the Coastal Areas of the Gulf of Finland" program last year. The program enlarged the list of our responsibilities and every-day duties. They range from the creation of high-speed trains of the Sokol-250 type and the high-tech "St. Petersburg Shipyards" complex to participating together with the Russian Federal Service for Regulating Natural Monopolies in Transport at the Congress on Tariffs (the first such congress since 1917). In a few days' time we, together with the Minister of Transport, Sergei Frank, are signing the Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance which aims at providing safe operation and stable development of the city's transport infrastructure. Wishing to attract as many investors as possible to our program we supplied each Forum participant with "The Portfolio of Investment Projects for the Development of the Infrastructure of the 9th International Transport Corridor in its St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region sections". Finally, the block of three laws on investment adopted by the city's Legislative Assembly will turn St. Petersburg into a very attractive area for both foreign and Russian investors.
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