St. Petersburg Sea Port Doubles Volume of Cargo Handled over 10 Years

In 2002 the St. Petersburg Sea Port will handle over 23 million tonnes of cargo, which is twice as much as in 1992. The increase in cargo turnover is due mainly to general cargo. This was announced by the port's general director, Igor Rusu, at a press conference devoted to the port's tenth anniversary as a joint-stock company. He also revealed that the company's income had increased from USD 25 million in 1992 to USD 208 million in 2002. According to Rusu's figures, the port company's share of total cargo turnover at St. Petersburg's Main Port in 2002 will be 57%. The St. Petersburg Sea Port today handles 15% of the total cargo turnover of Russia's 45 ports.

Igor Rusu estimated that the total volume of investment by the company to develop the port in 2002 will be over USD 60 million, which is roughly USD 1 million more than in 2001. Over the last ten years USD 213 million has been invested in construction and modernisation of facilities at the port. The main investment projects are: the development of the container terminal, the creation of a raw minerals complex, and the construction of new vessels for the port's fleet. The general director noted that the ten-year programme to repair the port's key facilities has cost over USD 100 million. The volume of investment in the business programmes of the company's subsidiaries has grown 15-fold since 1992, from USD 3 million to USD 44 million per year.

The St. Petersburg Sea Port was registered in St. Petersburg as a joint-stock company on December 8, 1992. It currently owns seven stevedore companies, including First Container Terminal, the largest stevedore company in the Baltic. A controlling stake in the company (50% plus one share) is held by Nasdor (registered in Liechtenstein). St. Petersburg's City Property Committee holds 28.79% of the company's privileged shares, and the Property Ministry has a 20% stake in the company.