MOSCOW, October 14 (RIA Novosti) - TransContainer, Russia's largest rail container operator, and China Railway Container Transport Corp. (CRCT) have signed an agreement on a freight transport joint venture, TransContainer said on Wednesday.
The agreement between TransContainer, which is a subsidiary of Russian railways monopoly RZD, and CRCT was signed during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to China.
The JV, in which Russia will hold 49% and China 51%, will offer a whole range of transport and logistics services for railway freight transportation in containers between Russia and China and between China and Europe, the TransContainer press statement said.
As the JV develops its business, it aims to increase its share in railway container cargo transportation between Russia and China from 12.5% in 2010 to 40% in 2015.
During Putin's visit to China, an agreement was also signed on a joint venture for the production of large-capacity vessels and maritime equipment for development of offshore oil and gas fields.
The document was signed between China's Yantai Raffles Shipyard Ltd. and Russia's Far Eastern Center of Shipbuilding and Ship Repairs.
"The joint venture, which aims to "use advanced technologies, the best international production practices in shipbuilding and marine platform production for shelf development," intends to build a new shipyard in the south of the Primorye Territory in the Russian Far East.
The shipyard will be outfitted with super-heavy hoisting equipment and will be capable of building ships and drilling platforms with deadweight of up to 250,000 metric tons. The shipyard is expected to help Russia build vessels domestically instead of placing orders with foreign shipyards.
