The expansion project will involve building two berths totalling 365 metres in length, the addition of three cranes, and a 235,000-square metre warehouse at a cost of US$80 million, reported IHS Media.
Currently, Global Ports' subsidiary JSC Petrolesport controls 11.6 per cent of the container traffic passing through St Petersburg, down from one-fifth in 2014.
But deputy director Ivan Adrianov of Kitaysky Krasota, a Russian distributor of Chinese clothing, said the expansion is likely to result in overcapacity.
St Petersburg is currently operating at half its capacity owing to Russia's economic woes over the past two years amid its fallout with Europe, partly due to the unrest in Crimea. Yet, the country's economy is now showing signs of recovery. The economic slowdown caused traffic at Global Ports' terminals to plummet 19 per cent year on year in 2016 to 1.1 million TEU.
The expansion at St Petersburg is also anticipated to contribute to overcapacity in Russia's northwest port basin, where the Bronka seaport opened last year and will eventually have a capacity of two million TEU.
Currently, Global Ports' subsidiary JSC Petrolesport controls 11.6 per cent of the container traffic passing through St Petersburg, down from one-fifth in 2014.
But deputy director Ivan Adrianov of Kitaysky Krasota, a Russian distributor of Chinese clothing, said the expansion is likely to result in overcapacity.
St Petersburg is currently operating at half its capacity owing to Russia's economic woes over the past two years amid its fallout with Europe, partly due to the unrest in Crimea. Yet, the country's economy is now showing signs of recovery. The economic slowdown caused traffic at Global Ports' terminals to plummet 19 per cent year on year in 2016 to 1.1 million TEU.
The expansion at St Petersburg is also anticipated to contribute to overcapacity in Russia's northwest port basin, where the Bronka seaport opened last year and will eventually have a capacity of two million TEU.