Primorye-2 Transport Corridor's Cargo Traffic From China Up 65% In 2020 - Russian Railways

VLADIVOSTOK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th May, 2020) Cargo traffic via the Primorye-2 international transport corridor from China to Russia's Far Eastern port of Zarubino grew by nearly 65 percent year-on-year in January-April, despite the COVID-19 epidemic, Russia's Far Eastern Railway said on Monday.

"Over the four months of 2020, the volume of transit traffic via the Primorye-2 international transport corridor from China amounted to 6,100 tonnes (+64.8 percent compared to the same period in 2019). The main cargo items are food and copper. Transit cargo traffic to China (the main item is iron ore) totaled 9,800 tonnes," the railway said.

It noted that the traffic remained stable despite the "unfavorable epidemiological situation.

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Since early May, over 1,500 tonnes of cargo have already arrived from China in seaports, while more than 2,200 tonnes have been sent in the opposite direction.

The transport corridors, called Primorye-1 and Primorye-2, were launched in August 2018. Primorye-2 is intended for cargo transportation between China and Russia, as well as between Korea and Japan.

Both corridors pass through the free port of Vladivostok, where checkpoints are running round the clock and all procedures are simplified. The potential cargo flow via these corridors is estimated at about 45 million tonnes per year.