Sergey Shishkarev: The Russian transportation industry must move from demand economy to supply economy
Sergey Shishkarev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Delo Group, took part in the key sessions of the Eastern Economic Forum-2023, with Delo Group acting as the forum's general partner. During the forum, he discussed with market players, government representatives and development institutions the most important issues of the Russian transportation industry.
As part of the session "The Thorny Eastern Polygon", Sergey Shishkarev shared his vision of the situation on the busiest railroad route, noting that there are still restrictions on the Eastern Polygon that restrain the movement of cargo in both export and import traffic. "I believe that we need to set ambitious goals. We really need to move from a demand economy to a supply economy, to develop infrastructure at a faster pace," he said, adding that to improve the situation it is important to balance not only cargo flows, but also equipment, and cited as an example the surplus of empty containers, which is observed in the Moscow transportation hub.
At the same time, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Delo Group emphasized that the Group is ready to continue investing in infrastructure development, but to do so it is necessary to understand the return on investment and ensure full cargo transportation. Sergey Shishkarev noted the need to establish the Eastern Polygon Infrastructure Consumers' Council, which would allow making complex and systematic decisions on the use and development of the railroad.
During the discussion at the session "Maritime logistics: how to grow by leaps and bounds" Sergey Shishkarev urged to use the country's potential to increase the share of Russian companies in the transportation market that forms cargo flows from/to Russia. Today 90% of Russian cargoes are transported by foreign fleet. Together with the Russian government it is necessary to work out measures to stimulate fleet construction and its purchase in leasing, to unite the efforts of the state and the largest market players, to start negotiations with foreign partners on active participation in the expansion of the North-South corridor. "I am sure that the Ministry of Transport will warmly support us. Let's set this ambitious goal and win back what is rightfully ours," Sergey Shishkarev noted, pointing out that the development of maritime logistics can provide an additional 20% growth in the GDP of the Russian Federation.
The prospects of the international market of transportation services were discussed during the session "Logistics of the future: Infrastructure as the starting point of eurasian integration". Sergey Shishkarev emphasized the role of international transport and logistics infrastructure and export of transportation services as an instrument of geopolitical influence and expressed readiness to invest in "long" infrastructure projects. "It is necessary to develop all types of transportation, to look where we can really have quick victories, where the least amount of investment is needed," he noted, separately citing the development of the river fleet and river-sea vessels as an example.