The coal ports of Vanino and Vostochny and their influence on the region's economy

The classic notion that port is a growth pole for the region’s economy is recently being questioned. Changing port’s specialization, reducing trade barriers and logistics costs have led to the reviewing of theoretical and methodological questions concerning the nature of the interaction between the port and the region. Basic models of ports’ development do not support the reduction of economic effects of port’s operations for the region in a practical way. The article attempts to answer the question, if ports can become growth poles of regional economy. In this vein, a quantitative analysis of the interdependencies between the port’s specialization and the region’s economy is proposed. One of the main aims of this article is to assess the economic effects for the region from implementation of coal projects in the ports of Vanino and Vostochny in the medium term. An algorithm of evaluation of economic effects localized on two territorial levels is composed, in the port region and in other regions. The obtained results allow to conclude that the implementation of the coal projects will not have a significant impact on the port region, the economic effects will gradually decline and the negative consequences will increase. The intensive growth of coal cargoes following from other regions will block the opportunities for growth of promising goods transshipment in the port region and will increase the ports’ dependence on the world demand for fuel and energy goods from the Asia Pacific. The leveling of transportation costs due to the tax benefits of the Free port of Vladivostok for coal, on the one hand, will create competitive advantages for the Russian coal on the international market, and on the other hand, will induce a negative impact on port regions. The ports’ narrow coal specialization will not cause a chain growth reaction of industrial production in the port region. Therefore, the ports will act solely as the objects affecting the port region’s economy only through the increase in of coal transshipment.