Russia’s Federal Marine and River Transport Agency has discussed combining regional plans for developing shipping on the Amur Basin’s inland waterways into one state programme.
Fedor Shishlakov, deputy head of the agency, chaired the September 15 meeting, which considered how existing development projects could be synchronized.
Officials from Russia’s transport ministry, participating regional governments, the Eastern State Planning Centre and the Amur Basin Waterways and Shipping Administration attended the meeting.
The draft state programme, titled "Development of Shipping in the Amur Basin’s Inland Waterways", is being prepared by the federal agency and the Khabarovsk Krai government. Authorities in Amur Region and the Jewish Autonomous Region are also involved.
Its proposed scope includes cruise and passenger operations, cargo shipping, renewal of river ports and berths, development of additional routes and measures to expand the cargo base available to inland waterway operators.
The programme is intended to restore the economic role of the basin’s waterways and use the Amur’s cross-border position to support regions within Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District.
No proposed budget, implementation schedule or detailed list of projects to be combined was disclosed following the meeting.
More than 1.6 million tonnes of cargo moved on the Amur Basin’s inland waterways during the first eight months of 2026, operational data from the Amur Basin Waterways and Shipping Administration showed.
Export and import cargo accounted for 658,000 tonnes. That volume was almost double the comparable total for the first eight months of 2025, although the administration did not provide the previous year’s absolute figure.
Passenger traffic exceeded 729,000 during the same eight-month period, an increase of 19 per cent year on year. The data did not separate passengers by domestic, cross-border, scheduled or excursion services.
The Khabarovsk Krai government has also established a Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Centre using the production facilities of the Khabarovsk Shipbuilding Plant.
The centre can build both cargo and passenger vessels. Its current orderbook includes two high-speed passenger catamarans and two electric vessels intended for excursion services.
Specialists from the Certification Association Russian Register gave a positive assessment of the quality of products manufactured at the yard. Further details on delivery schedules or the planned deployment of the four vessels were not provided.