Ust-Luga

Coordinates: 59°39′37″N 28°16′37″E / 59.66028°N 28.27694°E / 59.66028; 28.27694

Ust-Luga (Russian: Усть-Луга, lit. mouth of the Luga, Votian: Laugasuu, lit. mouth of the Luga) is a settlement and railway station in Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Luga River near its entry into the Luga Bay of the Gulf of Finland, about 110 kilometres (68 mi) west of St. Petersburg.

Port facilities[]

Ust-Luga is the site of an important coal and fertiliser terminal, constructed at a cost of $2.1 billion. Construction works started in 1997, in part to avoid dry cargo shipments through the Baltic States, and were accelerated at the urging of President Vladimir Putin, who inaugurated the new port facilities in 2001. The 3,700-metre approach canal is deep and capable of accommodating ships with a capacity of 150,000 tonnes and more. In May 2008, Putin confirmed^[1] that Ust-Luga will be the final point of the projected Second Baltic Pipeline,^[2] an oil transportation route bypassing Belarus.

The Ust-Luga container terminal was launched in December 2011. It is operated by the National Container Company.^[3]

In 2018, the port handled 98.7 million tonnes of cargo.^[4]

Population[]

As of 2005, the population of Ust-Luga does not exceed 2,000, but the port administration expects it to grow to 34,000 by 2025. This would make Ust-Luga the first new town built in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union.^[5]