Belarus has decided to build a port in northwest Russia, Belarus Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said on Thursday, August 11. According to him, it is planned to transport large volumes of all types of Belarusian cargo: mineral fertilizers, wood and rolling cargo, container transport. “President Alexander Lukashenko was presented with several options designed for the development of own capabilities. A decision was made on one of them, it will be implemented in the very near future,” said Golovchenko.

He did not disclose the specific location of the next construction, the project’s schedule and its cost. “The project will start operating in the very near future. By the end of this year for sure. There is a need for more investment in infrastructure, so we need to see how that will affect the economy in current realities,” said Roman Golovchenko. He noted that Belarus is currently cooperating with nine Russian ports in different seas, and tariffs are favorable for both states.

Lukashenka announced plans to create a Belarusian port near St. Petersburg in February, following a meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “In violation of international agreements, we closed roads and paths, ports where we worked. The president of Russia gave an order that we could build our own port near St. Petersburg,” he said then. Lukashenka also said that his country would no longer transport goods through the territory of Ukraine and Lithuania, which previously banned transit from Belarus.