Belarus to increase goods transshipment via St. Petersburg ports to 15 mln tonnes by 2025

MINSK. Feb 5 (Interfax) - Belarus plans to increase goods transshipment via St. Petersburg ports to 15 million tonnes by 2025, Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Dmitry Krutoi said.

"The investment plans of Russian Railways and Belarusian Railways have been reconciled. The first step is the reconstruction of passing tracks, which have practically been mothballed since the collapse of the Soviet Union. They have to be reconstructed promptly. The key task is to ensure the transshipment of 15 million tonnes of Belarusian cargo via St. Petersburg ports by 2025," Krutoi said on the Belarus 1 state-run television channel on Sunday.

"Transshipment has actually reached its limit with the available infrastructure, railway [infrastructure] in the first instance. Although the numbers are big, they have grown several times over since 2021-2022. Some 14.1 million tonnes of cargo were transshipped via Russian ports last year, and the lion's share, 12.9 million tonnes, passed through St. Petersburg ports," he said.

"We have the task of using the advantages of Murmansk and the Northern Sea Route for the delivery of our cargo to China. The reduction in time and the safety of this logistic route are obvious today above all. The Russians are beginning its active operation. Chinese logistic companies are also starting to use it very actively," he said.

"We have such plans, as well. I believe we will make a final decision on the options for Murmansk in the first half of the year," Krutoi said.