On May 31, the Government Commission on Legislative Activities supported a new bill from the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation that would allow privatization of both state and municipal river port property. The document is referenced by vedomosti.
The bill contemplates privatization of facilities including docks, hydraulic structures, and transshipment complexes.
The text specifies that a competition should determine the privatizing winner. The new owner would be required to use the property solely for passenger and freight traffic, meaning the port would not be reprofiled. If the port facilities are in poor condition, they must be repaired as an additional condition.
The publication notes that the starting price for selling abandoned river ports needing restoration could be set at one ruble without a deposit.
The article adds that the restoration requirements should be fulfilled within two years. If the winner cannot complete the repairs in that period, a new owner could resell the port, but the original obligations would still apply to the new buyer.
Early in 2017, the Ministry of Transport drafted amendments to the Law on Inland Water Transport and to privatization legislation for state and municipal property. The draft underwent multiple revisions to incorporate feedback from various ministries, but the prior versions did not pass the government commission.
Earlier, the State Duma approved zones near water bodies for use with special restrictions. The sanitary protection zone (ZSO) for drinking and utility water resources is one such zone type designed to shield water resources from pollution. If generation one restrictions limit construction, the second generation imposes other limits, especially regarding landfills, manure dumps, and farms.