The President stressed that Russia’s integration into the world economy depended largely on the performance of the Novorossiisk transport hub, one of the biggest in the country. International transport corridors, including North-South, pass through southern Russia, and the Russian sections needed modern and convenient infrastructure and corresponding services in order to be competitive, Vladimir Putin said.
In his opinion, modernisation of the entire transport hub and elimination of the imbalance between the size of port capacities and rail and road transport was a priority.
He urged the need to attract both domestic and foreign investments to speed up the renovation of the infrastructure and enhance the technical capacity of the transport hub. He invited those present to think about possible measures and present them in the shape of a programme for the development of transport and transport hubs in southern Russia.
Transport Minister Sergei Frank spoke about the work on the draft federal law on the Russian international register of ships aimed at creating a system that would encourage Russian ships to operate under the Russian flag by offering a better taxation scheme.
Railways Minister Gennady Fadeyev reported that 1 billion roubles would be invested in the development of the railways. In 2002, the handling of cargo arriving at the port by land had increased by 32%, he said.
The President also stressed that even if part of the problems of the Novorossiisk transport hub were solved, the next important national task – creating a base for the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Novorossiisk – could be tackled.