Port of Zarubino in Russian Far East may get free port status - vice-premier

BEIJING, December 11. /TASS/. The freight port of Zarubino in the Primorye Territory in the Russian Far East may be granted a free port status, Vice-Premier Yury Trutnev said at a meeting with Chinese business people on Thursday. “This issue may be discussed in the government,” Trutnev said. Big port Zarubino with an annual freight turnover of 60 million tons is planned to be built in Troitsy Bay in the Primorye Territory 18 km (11 miles) from the border with China. A grain terminal with an annual capacity of 10 million tons is set to be a key facility of the port and is expected to be built by the state-owned United Grain Company. The grain terminal will allow Russia to boost grain exports from the Far Eastern ports to 5 million tons a year compared with the current capacity of several dozen thousand tons. Zarubino is also expected to accommodate a container terminal with an annual capacity of up to 1.29 million TEUs, facilities for general and bulk-loaded cargoes with a capacity of up to 35 million tons and bunkerings. The port’s first stage is scheduled to go into operation in 2018. Read more