China not ready to invest in Primorye transport corridors - Trutnev
VLADIVOSTOK. March 23 (Interfax) - Chinese investors are not ready to invest in projects to develop the Primorye-1 and Primorye-2 international transport corridors due to the lack of economic appeal at the current stage, Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, who is the presidential envoy for the Far Eastern Federal District, told journalists on Wednesday.
"Our Chinese, Japanese and Korean colleagues can be approached [with proposals] when we have made the project appealing to our Russian investors. When the issue of the cost of resources, the length of money arises, because the fact is infrastructure projects take longer to recoup investment. But going to the Chinese and saying 'Invest!' doesn't work if it is not appealing to anyone in Russia. This doesn't work. They will not invest in a project which is not advantageous overall according to the economic models," Trutnev said after a meeting on development of Primorye-1 and Primorye-2.
Far Eastern Development Minister Alexander Galushka said previously that his ministry had proposed to China creation of a joint project team and a joint management company for formation of transportation corridors in Primorye.
The financial-economic model for formation of the transport corridors was drawn up jointly with McKinsey & Company, the Development of the Russian Far East Ministry said.
"The models differ widely. Both organizations [the Transport and Far East Development ministries] belong to the Russian government; the calculations ought to be reconciled. We agreed that they [the ministries] would prepare this in the near future and we would examine the proposals at [the next] meeting," he said.
Cargo handling speeds are one element in the appeal of the transport corridors, he said.
"In order to speak about the functioning of the transport corridors, they must be appealing and advantageous. For that reason, the speed of transportation on these corridors has fundamental significance. In order to ensure that speed, customs need to work in a different mode. Particularly for transit cargo. Changing the customs operating regime must be achieved in the context of the Free Port of Vladivostok. This will be the first cut, when we convince ourselves that our customs can work around the clock, can complete customs formalities on freight much more quickly, can get rid of the huge number of inspecting authorities at the border. The deadline is October 1. People know about this. They are saying that they will manage by the deadline," Trutnev said.
The Primorye-1 and Primorye-2 transport corridors will provide rail and truck links from northeastern China to Russian ports, providing alternative routes for shipments to southern China that bypass congested interior routes. Primorye-1 is designed to ship cargo from Heilongjiang province via the Suifenhe-Grodekovo border crossing and Primorye-2 - from Jilin province via the Hongchun-Kraskino crossing.