Russia has announced plans to build a seaport with an investment of $1.6bn in the country’s Kalmykia region, near the Caspian town of Lagan.
The new port which will offer a capacity of 12.5 million tones, aims to facilitate growth of ocean trade between India, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Russia.
The port will consist of 32 off-loading terminals and other facilities, such as elevators with a capacity of 300,000 tonnes of simultaneous storage for grain crops, as well as terminals for storing and shipping vegetable oils, fruits, vegetables, and other goods. The grain and container terminals will have the capacity of five million tonnes each, while the liquid cargo terminal will have a capacity of 500,000 tonnes.
Dredging will also be carried out to deepen the existing port’s seaway to 13m.
Container transportation is one of the promising directions the new port will take, as existing sea transport hubs in the neighbouring regions are not adapted for this. Container traffic is planned to operate mainly from India and the Persian Gulf countries, through Iran. In the reverse direction, the port will improve communications for Chinese goods bound for Europe.
The Russian complex in the Caspian Sea will significantly reduce the time it takes to deliver goods from China and other Asian countries to Europe.
A consortium of Iranian companies has expressed their interest in investing in the Port of Lagan. China’s Poly Group which specialises in the sale of artworks and defence systems and China Energy Engineering Group International have also showed its interest.
