Page 70 - RUSRptAug18

the past several years. Most prices were liberalized after stevedores’ designation as a natural monopoly was revoked in 2013-2014. A study ordered in 2017 by former Deputy PM Arkady Dvorkovich found that market conditions are generally competitive except at ports that handle oil.
The new investment fee is intended to safeguard competitiveness; FAS will set the fee to “equalize competitive conditions between ports." At the same time, the FAS has been actively encouraging stevedores to invest in publicly-owned port infrastructure. At the moment, they direct only 1-2% of their revenue to infrastructure, and the FAS would like to encourage more private investment. Another possible motivation for the investment fee is to bring the cost of port calls to pre-2014 levels in real terms. Port calls are currently cheaper for foreign companies because of the ruble’s devaluation.
70 RUSSIA Country Report August 2018 www.intellinews.com