“Transport Week 2010” took place in Moscow from 16 to 20 November, with the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation acting as the organiser and Business Dialogue as the operator.

The programme of “Transport Week 2010” was packed with striking events. On 19 November Sergei Sobyanin, Mayor of Moscow, visited the exhibition. Platform speakers during the “Transport of Russia” Forum included Sergei Ivanov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Igor Levitin, Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Siim Kallas, EU Commissioner for Transport, Sergei Shishkaryov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Transport, and also top managers from leading Russian and international transport companies.

Sergei Ivanov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, read out greetings from Dmitry Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation, and noted that Russia’s transport system is one of the leading sectors in the country’s economy. “One of the priority areas in developing the Russian transport system is to integrate into the global market for transport services and to develop the country’s transit potential,” said Mr Ivanov. In view of this a huge emphasis is being placed on introducing modern technologies to support interaction between different types of transport and the creation of optimal logistical routes. By improving this work we shall be able to reduce the proportion of transport expenses in the final costs of Russian products.”

Igor Levitin, Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, noted that the innovative projects and developments presented this year were a graphic demonstration of our country’s potential. “The Amur highway, the Arctic tanker Kirill Lavrov, the southern airport terminal complex at the Sheremetyevo airport, the Olympics transport facilities in Sochi and the high-speed rail service on the Moscow – Nizhny Novgorod route are just some of the projects presented at the exhibition,” said the minister. “They are testimony to the fact that the economic stimulus measures taken by the Government are enabling the transport system to maintain its pace of development.”

Siim Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission, drew attention to the need to attract private capital to implement transport projects. “We must do more to involve private capital and create the right conditions for attracting investment in the transport sector, and this means we must talk about fair tariffs,” he said.

Ivan Shcherba, Minister of Transport of Belarus, announced in a brief speech the main results of operations by the transport sector of the CIS states this year. According to his information, in the first half of 2010 the aggregate freight turnover in the CIS countries grew by 12% in comparison with the same period of 2009. At the same time, the indices for inland water transport rose by 1%, for road transport by 5% and for railway transport by 11%. The best performance was shown by air transport, whose indices soared by 33%. Only transportation by sea fell by 0.2%.

Apart from this, Ivan Shcherba informed those present of the progress in developing the legal and regulatory framework for cooperation in the transport sector as one of the high-priority areas of activity for the Coordination Transport Meeting (CTM) of the CIS aimed at creating a common transport space for the CIS member states and creating the conditions for the safe and efficient functioning of all types of transport.

Igor Rusu, General Director of Rosmorport, spoke about the need for structural reform and proposals for the reform of the sea port industry. He noted that independent experts had been involved in examining this question – specialists from the Russian Federation Government’s Academy of the National Economy and the legal company Vegas Lex – and global experience had also been studied. As a result of research into many options, flotation on the stock market was chosen as the best organisational and legal framework from the point of view of the company’s aims and objectives. Changes to the company’s structure are envisaged, from the point of view of its branch network and putting non-core assets into subsidiary companies. As a result of all these changes, Rosmorport should turn into a holding company.

Andrei Nedosekov, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, emphasised in his speech that the issue of safety is not merely topical. “Today this is a matter of the survival of the transport system and the Russian state,” the deputy minister noted.

Mr Nedosekov said that it had become possible to resolve many issues with regard to ensuring safety and averting the terrorist threat and acts of illegal interference with transport operations, thanks to active cooperation with the Federal Security Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and other federal government bodies. He gave a positive assessment of the results of implementing the integrated programme to ensure public safety on transport, expressing the hope that joint work would make it possible to raise the level of comfort for our citizens during journeys and protect transport from illegal actions.

Valery Okulov, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, noted that Russian aviation’s share in global aviation trade was not very big. “In the crisis period freight transportation fell significantly more than passenger transportation,” said Mr Okulov. “This applies both to general cargo (general freight carried on cargo plane flights) and to belly cargo (transportation in the baggage compartments of passenger planes). But since the fourth quarter of 2009 we have seen more dynamic growth in freight transportation. This is linked above all to activity in international rather than domestic transportation, and to a significant degree to general cargo.”

Tatyana Arslanova, Executive Vice President of AirBridgeCargo Airlines and Vice President, Strategy and Marketing, of the Volga-Dnepr group of companies, noted the growing role of air transportation in the overall transport system, including in Russia, where the growth in freight carried this year is higher than global indicators (28% and 25% respectively). In her opinion, air cargo flights make a substantial contribution to realising Russia’s transit potential. She noted the need to support the main advantage of air transport – its speed in delivery freight, which is extremely dependent on the ground-based transportation component: handling and documentation of freight. Ms Arslanova suggested two ways of addressing this: continuing to develop the Moscow air hub in terms of freight transportation, or reducing its load and shifting the freight flows into the regions, which would mean creating a system of regional hubs. Moreover, in her view it is necessary to create a cargo centre in Russia which can bring together all the players in the freight chain in order to push forward initiatives in the air freight industry.

Gennady Petrakov, head of the Federal Agency for Rail Transport (Roszheldor), spoke about the plans for large-scale modernisation and development of Russia’s railway infrastructure. “The programme is aimed primarily at increasing the transport accessibility of the regions,” said Mr Petrakov. “Roszheldor is taking all the necessary steps to ensure that the objectives set by the Government are fulfilled in a timely manner, especially in the area of investment projects.”

Part of the IV International Forum and Exhibition “Transport of Russia” was a range of important signings, including the signing of a memorandum on cooperation between the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation and the European Commission for organising road traffic. The signings also took place of memorandums on cooperation between the Sheremetyevo International Airport company and the United Land Foundation; the Sheremetyevo International Airport and the Vnukovo International Airport; the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, part of the World Bank Group, and the state-owned Russian Highways; the state-owned Avtodor and TNK-BP; and the United Shipbuilding Corporation and the Transas Group.

“Transport Week 2010” included 14 business events, and the total number of registered participants for all events was more than 2,300 people. More than 100 leading companies presented their displays at the Exhibition, which was visited by more than 35,000 people. More than 200 media representatives from 72 publications reported on the events. More detailed information is available at www.transweek.ru.

We look forward to seeing you at “Transport of Russia 2011”!