A new seaport, Bronka, is being built in the Gulf of Finland, adapted to receive modern container and ferry-type ships. This project is being implemented as part of the Concept for the Development of Outports of St. Petersburg. The customers are the government of the Northern capital and the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation.
History
The idea to build a port arose in 2003. After the development of the project, the authorities of St. Petersburg put forward additional requirements, which postponed the start date of the construction for an indefinite period. The guides at that time were the companies ZAO RosEuro Trans and Neste Saint Petersburg.
However, in 2006, the co-owners of Baltic Transport Systems (one of the two founders of RosEuroTrans CJSC) died in a car accident. The project was taken up by the Forum company, which for this purpose in 2008 established a subsidiary Phoenix LLC. The project and working documentation were created by GT Morstroy CJSC.
Construction of coastal infrastructure began in 2011. At that time, the port of Bronka was recognized as a strategically important object for the transport system of Russia. In 2011-2014, the construction of pile foundations at berths No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 was completed. They began to erect the buildings of supervisory and regulatory bodies, houses for dockers, and completed an autonomous fire extinguishing system .
Started work on the bottom. By September 2015, builders plan to reach a depth of the approach channel of 11 meters.
In 2013, in order to partially compensate for the harm caused to the environment by the construction of the Bronka MMPK, 10 thousand fish of the Ladoga palea species were released into the water bodies of the Leningrad Region. Phoenix LLC funded this action as part of the construction damage compensation program. The program itself is designed for 5 years.
Advantages of transport interchange
One of the potential competitors, Ust-Luga, was built recently (commissioned in 2001) and meets the modern needs of freight carriers. But he has a big drawback: he is far from St. Petersburg.
In addition, the transport connection of Ust-Luga leaves much to be desired - the quality of the road is far from ideal, plus the Southern and Northern sections are heavily loaded right now, and the density of cars will only increase with time.
Against this background, the second working seaport (St. Petersburg justifies its nickname of the Northern capital) looks better - but access to the ring road from its terminals goes through the WHSD, and the WHSD has a direct exit only to cargo areas I and II. Trucks that travel to zones III and IV must go through city blocks, which in no way can be beneficial either for drivers or for the population.
Sea and land entrances
Port Bronka is devoid of these shortcomings. In 2013, it was connected to the ring road. From land, A-120 and KAD lead to it. KAD-2 also comes close enough.
The export of goods by rail is possible in several main directions: through the Kotly and Weimarn stations, along the Gatchina railway line, through the MGA station.
After the construction is completed, the Bronka multifunctional transshipment complex will be able to serve container ships and passenger-and-freight ferries. These include:
- CKH-1500 (Atlantic Lady);
- CKH-2500 (Cap Ducato);
- Panamax (Wan Hai 501);
- Post Panamax (Wan Hai 501).
Cost effectiveness
The port of Bronka will receive the first ships in September 2015 - at least, Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Maxim Sokolov is sure of this. In his opinion, the transport sector is very profitable and promising - a lot of money is spinning here, and the commissioning of another port will increase the income and potential of the country as a whole.
At the same time, this is a solution to the truck problem. With the commissioning of the Bronka shipyard, the Bolshoi Seaport (St. Petersburg) will significantly reduce loading, transshipment of cargo will be transferred to it, which is still being carried out almost in the city center. 2300 new jobs are also expected .
By the time the first terminal is put into operation, the investment volume will reach 43 billion rubles. Direct annual tax payments will total 3.7 billion rubles, and indirect budget revenues will amount to 11 billion rubles.
Ecology
Environmental issues and the impact of the port under construction on nature continue to cause debate. On the one hand, such a large-scale project cannot but have an effect on the biosystems that have developed in the region. On the other hand, serious efforts are being made to minimize the negative impact of construction.
In particular, at the 16th MEF “Baltic Sea Day” a report was made by V.F. Shuisky, in which it was noted that in 2013-2014 more than 166 thousand young Ladoga pale were grown and released into Lake Ladoga. In 2015, it is planned to release more than 196 thousand.
Experts note that the measures taken have allowed minimizing the impact on the environment, the environmental safety of construction is quite high.
Lomonosov
City - former possessions of Prince A.D. Menshikov, a companion of Peter I. He is next to Bronka - close enough for the team and passengers of the arriving ships to see him. Lomonosov is also included in the list of “objects of care” for the Bronka project managers - in particular, it was planned to plant 17 sites in the city and plant 977 oak seedlings.
Forecasts
Until now, more than 80% of the stevedoring services market belonged to Global Ports - they controlled Petrolesport, the First Container Terminal and Moby Dick, as well as the only container terminal in Ust-Luga.
The start of construction of the MMBG Bronka portends the end of this monopoly. According to forecasts of DP experts, first of all, the new port will pull cargo from the historical part of St. Petersburg, afterwards from the Baltic states, and only then from Finland.
One of the main trends in the Baltic today is the use of larger vessels. This is caused by the introduction of the so-called sulfuric directive - it forces shipping companies to use cleaner, respectively, more expensive fuel.
As a result, transportation tariffs can increase by 15-20%, many shipowners will use ships with a large carrying capacity to save money. And this gives advantages to ports that have a deep access channel, including Bronka.
Different points of view and the level of congestion in St. Petersburg terminals. Investors of the port under construction voiced opinions about transshipment, while representatives of Global Ports talk about a “comfortable” amount of work - that is, existing facilities are occupied by about 75%.
The new marine transshipment complex has many advantages: a large canal depth (this is a serious factor in the competition), vast territory, accessibility (convenient road and rail interchange), and a short route from the receiving buoy to the port water area.
Owing to these factors, the construction of the Bronka MMMPG complex attracts a lot of attention. True, all these advantages will only make sense if the new port introduces low tariffs for services, warehousing of goods and customs clearance and radically raises the level of port services culture.
How to share customers
The expected power of Bronka after the launch of the first terminal is 1.45 million TEU. By 2022 - 3 million TEU per year. Clients of the nearest Russian ports can go to this port. On the Finnish side, the terminal in Helsinki is quite competitive, while others are at risk - after all, about 15% of Russian vessels are unloaded there. There is a very real chance that after the launch of Bronka they will use it.