FESCO plans to launch container terminal in Rostov region in 2026
ROSTOV-ON-DON. July 10 (Interfax) - FESCO Transportation Group plans to launch a container terminal in the Rostov region this year, the director of the Rostov branch of FESCO Integrated Transport (part of FESCO) Sergei Shtyrlov said.
"This year, FESCO is implementing an approved development program in the Rostov region, which includes two interrelated investment projects. The first project is the creation of a container terminal in Bataisk. As of today, a purchase and sale agreement for the land plot and real estate properties has been signed. The start of operational activities is planned for the third quarter of 2026," Shtyrlov said during a meeting of the export council under the region's governor on Thursday.
The project is being implemented entirely using the company's own funds. The total investment is around 530 million rubles. The design capacity of the terminal is up to 27,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) per year.
"This will allow us to double container processing at our branch. After the completion of the transaction, a package of documents will be prepared for the opening of the Bataisk railway station," Shtyrlov said.
The facility will create 46 jobs.
"The second project that FESCO is considering for implementation in the region is a transport and logistics center in Novocherkassk on the territory of the Rostov special economic zone (SEZ), adjacent to the Lokomotivstroi station of the North Caucasian Railway (a branch of Russian Railways). This is a strategic project aimed at forming a full-fledged terminal and logistics cluster," he said.
The design capacity could exceed 80,000 TEU per year. The launch is expected no earlier than 2030.
"A lot here will, of course, depend on the technical conditions issued by Russian Railways and other aspects of construction. We view this facility not as an isolated terminal, but as an element of the infrastructure of the special economic zone, capable of ensuring sustainable growth in cargo flows in the Rostov region and the south of Russia as a whole," he said.
The company currently operates through the Rostov-West railway station, located in a dense urban development area, as a result of which container cargo traffic passes through residential neighborhoods, Shtyrlov said.
"The projects will allow for the redistribution of the main amounts to specialized sites outside the dense environment of Rostov. This will create a more balanced transport model, reduce the burden on the city road network and at the same time ease the infrastructure of the railway and the Rostov-West station. For FESCO's clients in the region, this means a more stable service and the opportunity to further increase transportation levels," he said.
The company saw steady growth and strengthening of its position in the Rostov region in 2025, he said. FESCO's total container turnover in the region at the end of last year exceeded 14,000 TEU, up 25% compared to 2024.
"In the first half of this year, the growth trend has been maintained, and FESCO's Rostov branch continues to confidently gain momentum relative to 2025. This dynamics reflects the expansion of the client base and the growth of domestic and interregional transportation. We are trying to consistently increase the number of trains dispatched," Shtyrlov said.
As reported, FESCO plans to invest more than 2.5 billion rubles in the construction of a transport and logistics center in Novocherkassk at the site of the Rostov SEZ and a container terminal in Bataisk, Rostov region.
FESCO Transportation Group, which is under Rosatom state corporation's control, owns assets in the port, railway and integrated logistics business. FESCO owns PJSC Commercial Port of Vladivostok, the FESCO Integrated Transport intermodal operator, the Dalreftrans refrigerated container operator, as well as the Transgarant and FESCO Trans companies.
