Construction of a new modern river port will begin next year on the territory of the Zavidovo special economic zone.
"We position Zavidovo as a starting point for travel along the Volga. The Volga is an absolutely national tourism project, which can increase the flow of inbound tourism, - Dmitry Okorokov, President of ZavidovoDevelopment LLC. - It's not just nature, it's also historical places, cities that are connected to three quarters of the country's history. Rivers are the backbone of Russia, and each city on the Volga is a whole story."
Governor of the Tver Region Igor Rudenya notes the importance of expanding the territory's transport accessibility for tourists: "It is important for us to develop the tourist transport infrastructure. The main task is to increase the tourist flow to the Tver Region and create new jobs for residents of the region."
A unique transport hub (THU) with a category 1 river port (average daily passenger turnover of over 2,000 people) will be built in Zavidovo, connected by a railway line to the Moscow-Konakovo railway. It is planned that the THU will combine river, rail and road transport. There are no such THUs in Russia yet, where river transport would be connected to rail. "Domestic tourism in the Russian Federation is growing, so it is important to expand logistics. So far, water routes between Moscow and St. Petersburg are not being properly developed. Moreover, the river transport route between Moscow and St. Petersburg passes through the 128-kilometer Moscow Canal, which runs through the territory of the Moscow and Tver regions. There are 8 locks and 8 hydroelectric power plants on the canal, motor ships are delayed for a day or more, - explains Dmitry Okorokov. “The appearance of a new river port and transport hub in Zavidovo will help solve this problem, and tourists will be able to go on a water trip directly from Zavidovo.”
The main tasks that need to be solved for the efficient use of waterways and the development of domestic and inbound cruise tourism are, firstly, the construction of modern berthing and service infrastructure and the creation of new points of attraction for tourists, especially young people. “Currently, there are 117 river ports in Russia, 40 percent of which have already exhausted their service life,” Dmitry Okorokov reminds. “At the same time, not a single river port has a transport hub. Now Russia will have a modern port with a transport hub, which will facilitate travel logistics. The goal of the concept for creating a transport hub in Zavidovo is the efficient use of budget funds within the framework of a public-private partnership and attracting private investment, meeting the needs of the population, business and the state in the economical and safe movement of people, cargo and goods along the entire network of inland waterways, increasing the sustainability of inland water transport, forming a single harmonious transport system of the country, realizing the transit potential of Russia's inland waterways.”
The port in Zavidovo will be able to receive tourist vessels from Europe. And according to experts, attracting at least 5% European vessels to Russia will allow for an annual income of 200-250 million euros from water tourism.
At the mouth of the Shosha River (Ivankovskoye Reservoir), a complex of berthing structures, piers, gas stations and a river terminal building will be built, and the hub will be able to receive both cruise liners and pleasure boats. Outside the navigation period, the port will be able to receive about five tourist cruise ships and up to 10 excursion and pleasure boats for winter storage.
"The possible number of "green parking" per year for the designed port will be on average 480 per year. In the area of the port design, navigation lasts on average 6.8 months per year, therefore, on average, the port will be able to receive about 53 vessels per month. The average monthly passenger flow from the green parking will be about 12,200 people or 406 people per day (with daily operation of the port)," said Dmitry Okorokov.
The passenger river port in Zavidovo will be able to take on part of the load of the Northern River Port: “In just an hour – that’s how long it takes to get to Zavidovo from Moscow by car or train – you can board a boat and go on a cruise,” notes the chairman of the board of directors of the Agranta Group of Companies (the main investor in Zavidovo). Sergey Bachin— We are convinced that the new port will become an impetus for a new influx of Russian and foreign tourists to the Tver region and will contribute to the development of domestic tourism in Russia.
As Sergey Bachin notes, the port of Zavidovo can become a starting point for river tourist routes both down the Volga to Astrakhan, and for excursion routes of "small forms", for example, from Ivankovskoye to Rybinsk reservoirs, the Tver-Yaroslavl route, and so on. "In the immediate vicinity of the future port there is a developed tourist infrastructure, accommodation facilities and tourist attractions. We will be able to revive the once popular combined tourist routes, when tourists arrive at their destination (in this case, Zavidovo) by an alternative means of transport, relax, see the sights, and then transfer to water transport. Tourists will be able to visit such places as Vesyegonsk - the center of gastronomic and wine tourism, Kalyazin - the center of family recreation and children's tourist centers, Kimry - a return to the Russian province, immersion in the life of a provincial Russian city of the 19th century. In Konakovo, the Cultural Center of the resort area "Konakovo Riviera" is at the guests' disposal. Tver will delight you with the opportunities of historical and cultural tourism (walks along the streets of the old city, art galleries and museums, theatrical life). The resort "Zavidovo" is a center of recreational tourism, tourists will be able to take advantage of all the opportunities for active leisure (water sports, golf, walks in the Reserve Forest, cycling, quad biking, SPA zone).
The Volga Sea cluster, which includes Zavidovo, "may become a project of national significance." Sergey Bachin notes that the project continues to develop actively: this season, the Yamskaya Hotel, built in a historical style, will open here, and the construction of a year-round indoor entertainment complex with a water park and other activities is also planned. Further modernization of highways is envisaged, and the prospects for creating railway tourist routes in the Tver Region are being discussed.
Let us recall that the Zavidovo resort is part of the Volga Sea cluster, the project of which, according to the results of the Rostourism examination, took first place among 69 applications from Russian regions for inclusion in the Federal Targeted Program. "This result was achieved thanks to our systematic approach: we consider tourism as a complex task of developing an economic sector, we try to provide for the development of a whole range of issues: both accommodations and infrastructure," Dmitry Okorokov emphasizes.
The Zavidovo SEZ in the Tver Region is the only special economic zone of the tourist and recreational type in the Central Federal District. The volume of investments in the development of the territory is over 12 billion rubles.
Source: trn-news.ru