The project to build a Belarusian port in Russia’s Primorsky Krai has been placed in reserve. That is how the current status of the initiative was described by Primorsky Krai Governor Oleg Kozhemyako after a meeting with Aliaksandr Lukashenka.
“As for this project, we are keeping it in reserve. When the economic situation improves somewhat, we will certainly launch it. We need to wait out this period of sanctions pressure a little,” he said.
It should be noted that in 2024, despite the existence of sanctions pressure, Kozhemyako said after a meeting with Lukashenka that a site for the construction of the port would soon be selected and that Chinese investment could be attracted to the project. However, just nine months later, in March 2025, following another meeting in Minsk, Kozhemyako said the port construction project had been postponed due to the high key interest rate of the Central Bank of Russia, which stood at 21% at the time. The governor said the project would be revisited when the rate fell “to reasonable levels.” Since then, the Russian regulator has already lowered the rate to 14.5% annually, but the project has nevertheless been placed in reserve.
The governor believes the idea remains relevant because shipments of goods from Southeast Asia to the European part of Russia and to Belarus “are necessary and important, and will always be in demand.”
“A port is a very serious facility, requiring substantial investment. I think everything lies ahead. We are keeping this project in reserve; without partners from Belarus, we will not implement it,” Kozhemyako added.
