Baltic Ports Plan Major Capacity Boost

The port of Tallinn, in Estonia, has decided to construct a new container terminal at Muuga, which will substantially increase container capacity in the northern Baltic Sea area. The port of Tallinn, in Estonia, has decided to construct a new container terminal at Muuga, which will substantially increase container capacity in the northern Baltic Sea area. The new terminal (part of a wider ranging EEK 3.5bn (US$193) port development) will initially provide for an almost doubling of capacity to 120,000 TEU, however on completion in 2005 will provide an annual capacity of 600,000 TEU. Other Baltic ports also have plans to expand their box terminals, including the Latvian port of Riga, which is considering the expansion of its terminal to 1m TEU annual capacity. However the development of the ports is dependent on the success of negotiations with Russia aimed at reaching a compromise decision in respect of transit for cargo. Russia's current policy, intended to re-direct all transit and native cargoes via Russian ports, infringes the interests of the Baltic states, whose economies rely heavily on the transport industry.