PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, September 05. /ITAR-TASS/. Almost 3.2 billion rubles ($86.6 million) will be invested by Rosmorrechflot (Federal Agency of Sea and River Transport) in upgrading and developing the infrastructure of the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky merchant seaport.

The Kamchatka Territory government, the Rosmorport (seaports) federal enterprise, and the management of the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Merchant Seaport Company have signed a three-sided agreement on the development of the harbor and pier facilities of the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky merchant seaport at the "Far East - 2014" investment forum on Friday.

The Agreement is intended for a period until 2016. Under the Agreement, it is planned to upgrade the first and second piers via which social cargoes, such as coal and building materials, are delivered to the Kamchatka Peninsula.

Ivan Kapralov, Director of the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Merchant Seaport Company, said, "At the first stage, the Rosmorport intends to in build and rehabilitate the hydraulic engineering facilities. We shall develop the port territory".

Building a container handling terminal is to be a second stage in the event of implementation of the project for the development of the Northern Sea Route.

"In this case, we shall be able to attract foreign investors and foreign shipping organizations which tackle the transportation of cargoes by sea. We expect that cargo turnover will amount to about 500,000 containers a year, which will result in a cargo turnover of eight million tonnes a year," Kapralov said.

The first phase of reconstruction is to be implemented within two years.

The Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky seaport was built in 1949. Nowadays the port takes up an area of almost 32 hectares, with eight piers in operation. Cargo turnover amounts to 1.2 million tonnes a year, with a rated capacity being 3.7 million tonnes. The port is open for ships' calls the year round.