The free port of Vladivostok is a port zone in which a special customs regime operates. This project began to function recently, in the fall of 2015. The government of the country has high hopes for it. Let's see what tasks the program of the economic zone “Free Port of Vladivostok” pursues, what does this concept mean and what does the implementation of this plan promise Russia.
Economic and geographical location of Primorye
The Free Port of Vladivostok project includes a number of port zones in various settlements of Primorye, as well as transport routes, entrances and communications to them. It was the strategic economic and geographical position of the region that gave rise to the idea of creating a special trading zone here.
Primorsky Krai is located in the very south-east of Russia. On the north side it borders on the Khabarovsk Territory, on the west - on China, on the south-west on North Korea, and on 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 sea coast of Primorsky Krai is dotted with bays and bays, convenient for shipping and ship navigation.
All of the above nuances played a significant role in the fact that large land and sea trade routes have long passed through the territory of the region. The main transport arteries are the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Pacific Sea Routes.
History of the development of the city and port
Vladivostok became a free port only in October 2015. However, it has a rather 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 it was called the sea bay, in which the future city was located. Already in the 60s of the century before last, the first civilian settlers appeared in this village. Then the port was laid. From 1861 to 1909, he had a status that was recently returned to him - port-franco.
Since 1888, Vladivostok became the central city of the Primorsky region, replacing Khabarovsk in this status, which already indicated its significant development. The year 1891 marks the beginning of the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which had a significant impact on the development of the region. The construction of the railway was completed in 1916. Since then, Vladivostok has become an important hub connecting the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Pacific Sea Routes. Today, the commercial value 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 Territory, which opposed the Bolsheviks.
With the advent of Soviet power, Vladivostok continued to remain the main city of the Primorsky region, and since 1938 it became the administrative center of the newly formed Primorsky Territory. The port continued to develop. It was during the Soviet period that the cargo turnover in it reached unprecedented proportions.
Modernity
After the collapse of the USSR, Vladivostok remained the administrative center of Primorye as part of the Russian Federation. In the early 2000s, the volume of foreign trade in the port reached the level of $ 0.7 billion per 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 automobiles, electronics, clothing, and products. Imported metallurgy products, seafood, wood. The main directions of import and export of goods: China, Japan, the USA, the Republic of Korea and some other states of the Asia-Pacific region.
High rates of trade, as well as an interest in its further growth, made the authorities think about giving the port a special customs status.
Free Port Idea Development
The idea of creating a free port in Vladivostok, or, as it is commonly called a similar legal status, port-free, has long been in the air. Moreover, the city was already given a similar status even during the time of the Russian Empire, in 1861-1909. So there was a precedent.
This issue became even more acute after the imposition of sanctions against Russia by a number of Western powers. Various ideas began to emerge on how to stimulate other foreign partners to increase cooperation with Russia. One of these ideas was the Free Port of Vladivostok. What this innovation means for the economy of the region and the country as a whole, thinking people understood very well.
At first, this idea was considered at the local level, in the Primorsky Territory, but then more and more people began to talk about it at the top.
Legislation
The first serious statement about the possible prospects of creating a special customs zone in the Primorsky Territory was made at the end of 2014. The proposal to grant port-free status to Vladivostok in December was publicly made by the President of Russia. Already at the end of the month, this project was laid down in the development program of the Russian Federation.
In mid-July 2015, V.V. Putin signed the law on giving special customs status to Vladivostok and some other ports and territories of the Primorsky Territory, but it entered into force only on October 12. Since then, Vladivostok has again become port-free.
Project objectives
Let's find out what are the goals of the Free Port of Vladivostok project. What does its implementation mean for politicians and economists?
The main objectives pursued by this project is to increase trade in port areas of the Primorsky Territory, turning them into the largest transshipment points in the Asia-Pacific region. It should contribute to achieving an increase in commodity circulation in these ports, both in quantitative and monetary terms. His tasks also include promoting the growth of the country's GDP as a whole, developing the region’s infrastructure (mainly transport), expanding trade relations with partners, increasing the volume of services associated with the processing, transportation and storage of goods.
We will discuss below with what methods these tasks will be solved.
Legal status and mechanism of work
Now it's time to talk specifically about what the Free Port of Vladivostok means from a legal point of view, and what is the mechanism of the project.
The status of port-free implies the non-proliferation of the customs zone of the state in whose territory the port is located in its zone. That is, goods arriving here do not need to be cleared. This procedure is performed only if the goods begin to move deep into the country, into its customs territory. Thus, freight forwarders save time and money. They do not need to make customs clearance of goods and pay a fee for it.
A free port is a duty-free zone for import and export of goods. Naturally, this state of affairs should attract freight carriers and other counterparties. Especially such a customs zone is beneficial to those subjects of international trade activity who need a transshipment point for further transportation of goods.
A simplified visa regime has been established within the Freeport, special measures have been introduced to support entrepreneurship, and a number of tax benefits. This status favors not only international trade relations, but also the development of local entrepreneurship.
This is what you need, first of all, to know for those people who want to understand what the Free Port of Vladivostok is, what it means.
I must say that back in the days of the Russian Empire, except for Vladivostok, Theodosius, Batum, Odessa and a number of other port zones had this status.
Guide
The management of the Free Port is managed by 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 unnecessary interference of controlling structures in the activities of this customs zone.
Currently, the head of the Supervisory Board is Yuri 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 territorial terms?
It should be noted that the borders of the Free Port include not only the ports of Primorye themselves, but also a number of additional communications, entrances, structures and complexes, including the Knevichi airport.
In general, the port area covers 15 of the 34 districts of Primorye. It stretches from the port of Zarubino in the west to the port of Nakhodka in the east, and to the north extends to the Khankai municipal district, including Lake Khanka.
In addition, according to Russian legal norms, the legal status of the Free Port of Vladivostok extends to the Primorye-1 transport route, which runs from the Chinese city of Harbin to the ports of the Asia-Pacific region, as well as Primorye-2, which runs between Changchun and ports on the Pacific the ocean.
Thus, we determined what territory the Free Port of Vladivostok extends to, what it is from a geographical perspective.
Expansion prospects
Despite such territorial coverage, the advantages of the Free Port of Vladivostok make us think about its further expansion.
So, the governments of the Sakhalin Oblast, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Kamchatka and Khabarovsk Territories expressed their wishes to include a number of ports located in their regions into the special customs zone. In particular, this applies to such ports as Sovetskaya Gavan, Providence, Petropavlovsk, Nikolaevsk-on-Amur, Korsakovsky, Vanino, Beringovsky, Okhotsk and several others.
In addition, the head of the Lazovsky district of the Primorsky Territory expressed hope that the mentioned administrative entity would be included in this zone, in particular, the Transfiguration port.
