Andrey Severilov, FESCO Group Board Chairman, took part in a strategic panel to discuss the North-South International North-South Transport Corridor development held in the framework of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs’ Union Board session in Makhachkala, Dagestan.
Speaking to the delegates, Severilov told them about the new services to cater for the growing trade with partners in India and the Middle East emphasizing the huge potential of the Group in the North-South project, FESCO said in a statement.
‘The North-South route is gaining popularity and importance. FESCO is interested to actively participate and develop the North-South International Transport Corridor. We have been present in the countries along the International Transport Corridor for a long time, including Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan. We believe that this route will help us strengthen our ties with India and Middle East countries. We plan to actively participate in establishing a pool of potential private investors, creating an interdepartmental working group and drawing a plan to develop a logistics hub,’ FESCO press office quotes Severilov as saying.
Speaking of establishing a fleet to serve the trade along the North-South International Transport Corridor, Severilov reminded that FESCO is a major Russian shipowner with a commercial fleet deployed in all Eurasian basins. At present, the Group is engaged in the acquisition of river-sea-going tonnage. ‘In cooperation with United Shipbuilding Corporation we are discussing options to acquired 00108 Design container vessels developed by USC. We hope that starting 2025-2026 new river-sa-going vessels will join Russia’s fleet,’ Severiolov said.
FESCO-owned fleet is already operating in the Indian Ocean calling at Nhava Sheva and Mundra. ‘Now we are defining what vessel capacity is optimal to operate the long leg of the North-South International Transport Corridor carrying cargo from the port of Bandar-Abbas,’ he continued.
‘Being primarily a shipping company the Group has started working on the tasks in connection with the launch of the North-South Transport Corridor. We have started to develop the fleet, and are now actively engaged in developing shipping routes from India to Russia. A separate task for us is building a multimodal rail and river terminal in Zelenodolsk region in Tatarstan, which will become a major hub in the Volga area that will consolidate cargo to be shipped to the Caspian,’ Severilov added.
Speaking about infrastructure development in the Caspian FESCO Chairman mentioned the Group’s interest in acquiring a container terminal and invited all the delegates to cooperate in solving the problems of the region. ‘FESCO is optimistic about local infrastructure development projects for the Caspian. Developing a network of transport and logistics hubs in the Caspian will allow of link all the components of the transport cluster of Dagestan and seriously upgrade the transport infrastructure in the region,’ he concluded.
Photo: courtesy of FESCO