Russian Transport Ministry aims to restore riverways for cargo shipments

YEKATERINBURG. Oct 16 (Interfax) - The restoration of riverways that can be used to transport cargo and people is one of the Russian Transport Ministry's priorities, Transport Minister Roman Starovoit said in a panel discussion during the Road 2024 exhibition in Yekaterinburg on Wednesday.

He said it is necessary to understand what types of transport will convey cargo and people in places where a freight base emerges.

"We have seen [the riverway] disappear since the 1990s for understandable reasons. And, of course, it is important here to restore these riverways that are used to deliver aggregate," Starovoit said.

He said the main materials for construction of roads and artificial structures, such as sand, rock and metals, need to be shipped by river.

"This is more efficient. But, given that there was no dredging, hydraulic structures have been lost and the fleet has become obsolete. At the Transport Ministry we formulated an agency Riverways project at the end of last year. The Volga-Kama basin, the Ob basin and the system of rivers and lakes of the Northwest are in our sights. Accordingly, these are the priorities we see for ourselves in the near term," Starovoit said.

The Transport Ministry said earlier that Russia's internal waterways extend for a total of 102,000 km. Developing riverways is part of Russia's transport strategy to 2030 and the forecast period to 2035.