Free port of Vladivostok: what does it mean? Free port of Vladivostok: pros and cons

The free port of Vladivostok is a port area in which a special customs regime operates . This project began to function only recently, from autumn 2015. The government of the country has high hopes for it. Let's see what tasks the program of the economic zone "Free Port Vladivostok" is pursuing, which means this concept and what promises Russia the realization of this idea.

Economic and geographical location of Primorye

The project "Vladivostok Free Port" includes a number of port areas of various settlements of Primorye, as well as transport routes, entrances and communications to them. It is the strategic economic and geographic location of the region that gave birth to the idea of creating a special trading zone here.

Primorye is located in the very south-east of Russia. On the north side it borders with the Khabarovsk Territory, in the west - with China, from the south-west with North Korea, and from the east it is washed by the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The administrative center of this region is the city of Vladivostok, whose population currently exceeds 600 thousand people.

The seaside of Primorsky Krai is covered with bays and bays, convenient for navigation and ship navigation.

All the above-mentioned nuances played a significant role in the fact that large land and sea trade routes have passed through the territory of the region for a long time. The main transport arteries are the Trans-Siberian railway and the Pacific sea routes.

History of the city and port development

Vladivostok became a free port only in October 2015. However, it has a fairly long history of its development.

Vladivostok itself emerged in 1860 as a military outpost designed to protect the borders of the Russian Empire with China and trade routes. Although even earlier called the sea bay, which was located the future city. Already in the 60 years of the century before last, the first civil settlers appeared in this settlement. Then the port was laid. From 1861 to 1909 he had the status, which he was returned only recently, - porto-franco.

Since 1888, Vladivostok has become the central city of the Primorsky region, replacing Khabarovsk in this status, which has already indicated its significant development. By 1891 the beginning of the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which had had a significant impact on the development of the region, was the beginning. The construction of the railway was finished in 1916. From now on Vladivostok has become the most important junction connecting the Trans-Siberian railway and the Pacific sea routes. Today, the commercial importance of the port has grown even more.

During the Civil War, Vladivostok was part of the buffer state of the Far Eastern Republic, and was also the main city of the Amur Zemsky Region, which opposed the Bolsheviks.

With the advent of Soviet power Vladivostok continued to remain the main city of the Primorsky region, and since 1938 became the administrative center of the newly formed Primorsky Territory. The port continued to develop. It was during the Soviet period that the freight turnover in it reached unprecedented levels.

Modernity

After the collapse of the USSR in the Russian Federation, Vladivostok remains the administrative center of Primorye. In the early 2000s, the volume of foreign trade in the port reached the level of $ 0.7 billion a year, and in 2009 the turnover exceeded the volume of 15 million tons.

The main types of goods that are imported into Russia through the port are cars, electronics, garments, and products. Imported products of metallurgy, seafood, timber. The main directions of import and export of goods: China, Japan, the United States, the Republic of Korea and some other states of the Asia-Pacific region.

High turnover figures, as well as interest in its further growth, made the authorities think about giving the port a special customs status.

Developing the idea of a free port

The idea of creating a free port in Vladivostok, or, as it is customary to call such a legal status, porto-franco, has long been in the air. Moreover, the city has already been granted this status even in the times of the Russian Empire, in 1861-1909. So there was a precedent.

The issue became even more acute after the imposition of sanctions against Russia by a number of Western powers. Various ideas began to appear, how to encourage other foreign partners to increase the volume of cooperation with Russia. One of these ideas was the Free Port of Vladivostok. What is meant for the economy of the region and the country as a whole is such an innovation, thinking people understood perfectly.

First, this idea was considered at the local level, in the Primorsky Territory, but then it was increasingly spoken about at the top.

Legislative design

The first serious statement about the possible prospects for the creation of a special customs zone in the Primorsky Territory was made at the end of 2014. The proposal to assign Vladivostok the status of port-franco in December was publicly delivered by the Russian president. Already at the end of the month, this project was laid in the development program of the Russian Federation.

In mid-July 2015, V. Putin signed a law on granting a special customs status to Vladivostok and some other ports and territories of Primorsky Krai, but it entered into force only on October 12. Since then, Vladivostok has again become a port-franco.

Project Objectives

Let's find out what the objectives of the implementation of the project "Free Port Vladivostok." What does it mean for politicians and economists to implement it?

The main objectives pursued by this project are to increase trade turnover in the port areas of Primorsky Krai, turning them into the largest transshipment points in the Asia-Pacific region. It should help to increase the turnover in these ports, both in quantitative and in monetary terms. Its tasks also include contributing to the growth of the country's GDP as a whole, the development of the region's infrastructure (mainly transport infrastructure), the expansion of trade links with partners, the increase in the volume of services related to the processing, transportation and storage of goods.

About what methods will be used to solve these tasks, we'll talk below.

Legal status and mechanism of work

Now it's time to talk specifically about what the Vladivostok Free Port means from a legal point of view, and what is the mechanism of the project.

The status of the porto-franco implies the non-distribution of the customs zone of the state in the territory of which the port is located, to its zone. That is, the goods coming here do not need customs clearance. This procedure is carried out only if the goods begin to move deeper into the country, into its customs territory. Thus, freight carriers save time and money. They do not need to make customs clearance of goods and pay a duty for it.

Free port is a duty-free zone of import and export of goods. Naturally, this state of affairs should attract cargo carriers and other contractors. A particularly similar customs zone is beneficial to those subjects of international trade that require a transfer point for the further transportation of goods.

Within the borders of the Free Port a simplified visa regime has been established, special measures to support entrepreneurship have been introduced, a number of tax privileges have been introduced. This status favors not only international trade relations, but also the development of local entrepreneurship.

This is what you need, first and foremost, to know those people who want to understand what the Free Port of Vladivostok is, what it means.

I must say that even in the times of the Russian Empire, except for Vladivostok, this status was held by Feodosia, Batum, Odessa and a number of other port zones.

Management

The leadership of the Freeport is under the supervision of a special Supervisory Board, which consists of some members of the government and representatives of local authorities. Its main task is to coordinate the actions of the government of the Russian Federation and regional authorities, as well as to prevent excessive interference of controlling structures in the activities of this customs zone.

Currently, the head of the Supervisory Board is Yury Trutnev.

Territorial framework

Now let's see which territories of the Primorsky Territory are included in the customs zone of the Free Port of Vladivostok. What does this mean in terms of territory?

It should be noted that the Freeport Port borders not only the ports of Primorye itself, but also a whole range of additional communications, entrances, structures and complexes, including the Knevichi airport.

In total, the port area covers 15 of the 34 Primorye regions. It stretches from the port of Zarubino in the west to the port of Nakhodka in the east, and to the north it extends to Khankai municipal district inclusive and Lake Khanka.

In addition, according to Russian legal norms, the legal status of the Freeport of Vladivostok extends to the Primorye-1 transport route, stretching from the Chinese city of Harbin to the ports of the Asia-Pacific region, and Primorye-2, lying between Changchun and the ports of the Pacific The ocean.

Thus, we determined to which territory the Free Port of Vladivostok is spreading, what is it in terms of geography.

Prospects for expansion

Despite such territorial coverage, the advantages of the Free Port of Vladivostok make one think about its further expansion.

So, the governments of the Sakhalin Region, the Chukotka Autonomous District, the Kamchatka and Khabarovsk Territories expressed their desire to include a number of ports that are located in the territory of their regions into the special customs zone. In particular, this concerns such ports as Sovetskaya Gavan, Provideniya, Petropavlovskiy, Nikolayevsk-on-Amur, Korsakovsky, Vanino, Beringovsky, Okhotsk and others.

In addition, the head of the Lazovsky district of Primorsky Krai expressed hope that this administrative entity would be included in the zone, in particular the Transfiguration port.

Forecasts of development

While it is difficult to assess all the advantages and disadvantages of the project "Free Port Vladivostok." Pros and cons will appear more clearly to us later. Nevertheless, many analysts now make up reasonable forecasts of its development. So, it is assumed that by 2025 the gross product of Primorye will increase more than twice, and by 2034 - almost 3.5 times.

Of course, in order to achieve such bright prospects, you need to solve some problems of the Free Port of Vladivostok. In particular, it is required to link all legislative norms together and to regulate the mechanism of functioning of the given customs zone.