The official presentation ceremony of the new multifunctional logistics complex OJSC Yanino Logistics Park, part of the Global Ports Investments Plc, took place on May 28 in the Vsevolozhsk district of Leningrad region.

The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Igor Levitin, the vice-Governor of Leningrad Region Nikolay Pasyada, the Director of the Department of Industry and Infrastructure of the Government of the Russian Federation Maxim Sokolov and other officials.

The construction of the new logistics complex near St Petersburg was implemented by Global Ports Investments Plc, a leading container terminal operator in Russia, and the Finnish corporation Container Finance Group. Vnesheconombank was the main lender to the project. The construction of the complex was completed in 2010 and has become one of the largest investment projects in inland container infrastructure development in Russia.

In the first quarter of 2011 the terminal’s capacity was 200,000 TEU and 400,000 tonnes of general cargo; estimated full development capacity of the complex is 400,000 TEU and 1,000,000 tonnes of general cargo. Yanino is the first logistics complex to combine container and railroad terminals, warehouses and customs facilities. Yanino’s developed infrastructure creates the conditions for transportation of a wider range of export and import cargo to container shipments and also provides a full range of operations with container and other cargo, including customs procedures, cargo batching, and making connections between different forms of transport.

According to Nikita Mishin, Chairman of Global Ports, Yanino is the Group’s first project to develop its own inland terminal infrastructure. The launch of the new logistics complex significantly expands the Group’s range of services and stimulates containerisation of new cargo types.

Kimmo Nordstrom, Chairman of Container Finance Ltd Oy added that Yanino terminal has been created to widen the rage of services of the port terminals Moby Dik and Petrolesport. Yanino is offering additional railway linked storage capacity for standard and reefer containers, full customs services and cargo station operations. Yanino logistics complex is strengthening the position of St Petersburg as the main gateway for the Russian import- and export cargo flows.

Anatoly Ballo, Deputy Chairman of Vnesheconombank, added: “The construction of the Yanino logistics complex is aimed at providing a solution to infrastructure problems within the transport system in the northwest of Russia. By moving part of the operations out from the Big Port of Saint Petersburg, it relieves pressure on the already overloaded ports area. The financing of such infrastrucutre projects is one of Vnesheconombank’s priorities”.

Yanino Logistics Park is located 1.5 kilometers from the St Petersburg ring road, in the Vsevolozhsk district of Leningrad Region and is connected by rail and road links to the terminals of the Big Port of St Petersburg and by road to the Kronstadt terminal Moby Dik.