St. Petersburg Port

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St Petersburg's greater port handles about 20.6 million tons of cargo annually, 20% of Russian import cargo. The Port Authority of St. Petersburg has been established since July 1, 1994 according to the Decree of the Government of Russian Federation and is direct subordinate to the Merchant Marine Service of the Transport Ministry of Russia and owns all infrastructure assets of the St. Petersburg sea ports (Government decree No. 1299, issued in 1993). JSC St. Petersburg Sea Port, the largest stevedoring company in the port, was privatized in 1992 in the second phase of privatization. It owns most of the land in the port area and rents 52 out of 70 berth facilities. In 1997 JSC (Joint Stock Company) Sea Port St Petersburg processed 16.4 million tons of cargo, 27% more than in 1996. Of this, 83% was exported and 17% imported. Exports of oil rose 54% compared with 1996, containers rose 40% metal cargoes rose 35% and mineral fertilisers rose 26%. A 51% stake was given to the employees, and 48. 79 percent to the state. Since then, the Government stake was divided into two parts: the voting stake of 20 percent, which is owned by the Federal government and managed by the Ministry of Transport, and a non-voting stake of 28.79 percent by the St. Petersburg Property Committee, as a part of the federal debt to the city budget. The latter stake can become voting shares only if they are sold in the market. The 51 percent stake that originally belonged to the employees has changed hands several times and eventually 47 percent was bought by several banks and other legal entities. This cumbersome structure of shareholding has made it difficult to attract investments in the port. In 1997, a consortium of banks (known by the Russian acronym, OBIP) bought 43% of the shares giving it control of 60% voting shares. When registered in January 1998, OBIP had six members: The Peter Information Bureau (20%), Bank Sankt-Peterburg (15%), Baltiyskaya Finance Company (6.9%), Bank Petrovsky (5.1%), Sea Port St. Petersburg (3%), and Nasdor (50%), an offshore company based in Liechtenstein. The Nasdor company was created especially for attracting investments into the Port. A container terminal capable of handling 150,000 containers was the largest planned development project with estimated project costs US$ 76.7 million. US$ 25 million has already been invested into its construction being funded jointly by the Port Authority and the JSC Sea Port of St Petersburg, subsequent funding remains unclear. In 2000, a total of US$ 71.9 million investment expenditure was undertaken at the port. In 2012, the port experienced a $8.4 million upgrade to its infrastructure and equipment. In 2013, the Sea Port of Saint-Petersburg invested $3.1 million in the renovation of its cargo terminals and infrastructure (RUB 102.5 million). http://www.port.spb.ru