Minister says Armenia to benefit greatly from new Russian-Georgian ferry link
Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
10 Jan 05
[Presenter] The official reopening of a ferry link between the
[Russian] port of Kavkaz and Poti [in Georgia] was held today. In
accordance with initial agreements, a ferry carrying 24 wagons will
operate every three days. According to expert assessments, it is
expected that over 500,000 t of cargo will be transported between Poti
and the port of Kavkaz annually. The price of imported goods may
decrease because the transport tariffs for goods transited from Russia
to Armenia via the newly-opened route will decrease by about 30 per
cent.
[Andranik Manukyan, Armenian transport and communications minister,
over the phone from Tbilisi] An agreement was signed on a ferry link
between the ports of Poti and Kavkaz in Tbilisi today. Under this
agreement, from now on cargo bound from Russia for Armenia will be
transported from the port of Kavkaz to Poti and from there to Yerevan
by railway. It is a very advantageous option for Armenia, because
compared to the current transport route, the cost of cargo transport
from (?Lichevskiy) to the ports of Poti or Batumi is about 30-35 per
cent higher.
This will also result in a surge in trade between Russia and Armenia,
as well as in a decrease in prices. This route is twice as short as
the distance between the ports of Lichevskiy and Poti. This will also
benefit our shipping companies and will promote an increase in foreign
trade.
Negotiations were also held between the Russian and Georgian sides
today and it was decided to create a coordination council to oversee
ferry cargo transportation. There will be an Armenian representative
in the council as well. We will have an opportunity to take part in
setting tariffs.
I reckon that this agreement is of paramount importance to the
Armenian economy.